Subject: Re: ALGAL BLOOM

From: [email-masked] (Gene Newcomb)
Date: 8 Oct 1996 22:07:41 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, 
[email-masked] says...
>   What we'de like to know is:
>     How are phosphates used in photosynthesis?
Phosphates are a component of the very important
energy-transfer compound adenosine tri-phosphate.  
This moves the energy derived from sunlight into 
the process of making carbohydrates from carbon 
dioxide and water,that is, photosyntheses. If 
you look in an plant physiology textbook, you 
should be able to find out more than you ever 
wanted to know.

>     How do plants use nitrates? 
Nitrogen derived from nitrates is used in many 
ways in plants.  The simplest thing to say is 
it is present in every amino acid and thus in 
every protein, but many other compounds in plants
also have nitrogen in them. To be useful to the
plants the NO3 of nitrate has to be reduced to 
NH2, this is accomplished using the energy from 
the above mentioned adenosine triphosphate.
>     What is the name of the common Green Algae found in streams all 
over
>North America?
I don't think that there is a single answer to 
this question.  Depending on the characteristics 
of the stream, slow water or fast, warm or cold, 
etc, many different kinds of algae can be present.
One thing you might be interested in trying is 
collecting samples of water from a nice clear 
stream and adding different amounts of nitrates 
and phosphates to them. You probably can produce a
nice algal bloom in a bottle.

---

From: [email-masked] (Andrew Jewell)
Date: 8 Oct 1996 20:40:07 GMT

We are students of Mount Shasta High School. We are doing a science
experiment about the relationship between algea growth and the amount of
nitrates and phosphates present in the water supply.
      
      We know that phosphates are a key ingredient in photosynthesis.
      That nitrates are an essential nutrient for all plants.
      We know that a body of water which is overly rich in nutrients,
namely                      phosphates will cause the aquatic vegetation
to grow far beyond it's normal rate, resulting in an algal bloom.
      We know that algea absorbs nutrients directly from the water.
      
   What we'de like to know is:
     How are phosphates used in photosynthesis?
     How do plants use nitrates? 
     What is the name of the common Green Algae found in streams all over
North America?

-we've been trying to identify it through books and our
closest             guess is volvox-

      We would appreciate any help you could give us.

                                       Sincerely,
                                       Andrew Jewell
                                       Bryce Gunkel
                                       Mt. Shasta High School
                                       Mt. Shasta, CA 
                                       [email-masked]