View source for Biology:Phycology

{{Short description|Branch of botany concerned with the study of algae}}
[[File:Kelp In Freycinet Tasmania.jpg|thumb|250px|Kelp in Hazards Bay, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania, Australia]]

'''Phycology''' ({{etymology|grc|''{{wikt-lang|grc|φῦκος}}'' ({{grc-transl|φῦκος}})|seaweed||''{{wikt-lang|grc|-λογία}}'' ({{grc-transl|-λογία}})|study of}}) is the scientific study of [[Biology:Algae|algae]].  Also known as '''algology''', phycology is a branch of [[Biology:List of life sciences|life science]].

Algae are important as [[Earth:Primary production|primary producers]] in aquatic [[Earth:Ecosystem|ecosystem]]s. Most algae are [[Biology:Eukaryote|eukaryotic]], [[Earth:Photosynthesis|photosynthetic]] organisms that live in a wet environment. They are distinguished from the higher plants by a lack of true [[Biology:Root|root]]s, stems or [[Biology:Leaf|leaves]]. They do not produce flowers. Many species are single-celled and microscopic (including [[Earth:Phytoplankton|phytoplankton]] and other [[Biology:Microalgae|microalgae]]); many others are multicellular to one degree or another, some of these growing to large size (for example, seaweeds such as [[Biology:Kelp|kelp]] and ''[[Biology:Sargassum|Sargassum]]'').

Phycology includes the study of [[Biology:Prokaryote|prokaryotic]] forms known as blue-green algae or [[Biology:Cyanobacteria|cyanobacteria]]. A number of microscopic algae also occur as symbionts in [[Biology:Lichen|lichen]]s.

Phycologists typically focus on either freshwater or ocean algae, and further within those areas, either diatoms or soft algae.

==History of phycology==
{{Main|Biology:History of phycology}}
While both the ancient Greeks and Romans knew of algae, and the ancient Chinese<ref>Porterfield, William M. (1922) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6J8mBMCygk8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA297 "References to the algae in the Chinese classics"] ''Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club'' 49: pp.&nbsp;297&ndash;300</ref> even cultivated certain varieties as food, the scientific study of algae began in the late 18th century with the description and naming of [[Biology:Ecklonia maxima|''Fucus maximus'' (now ''Ecklonia maxima'')]] in 1757 by Pehr Osbeck. This was followed by the descriptive work of scholars such as Dawson Turner and [[Biography:Carl Adolph Agardh|Carl Adolph Agardh]], but it was not until later in the 19th century that efforts were made by J.V. Lamouroux and [[Biography:William Henry Harvey|William Henry Harvey]] to create significant groupings within the algae. Harvey has been called "the father of modern phycology"<ref>[http://www.livestrong.com/article/43795-phycology/ "About Phycology"] Lance Armstrong Foundation</ref> in part for his division of the algae into four major divisions based upon their pigmentation.

It was in the late 19th and early 20th century, that phycology became a recognized field of its own.  Men such as Friedrich Traugott Kützing continued the descriptive work. In Japan, beginning in 1889, Kintarô Okamura not only provided detailed descriptions of Japanese coastal algae, he also provided comprehensive analysis of their distribution.<ref>Tokida, Jun and Hirose, Hiroyuki (1975) ''Advance of Phycology in Japan'' Junk, The Hague, Netherlands, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ig4yuw_GC_4C&pg=PA241 page 241], {{ISBN|90-6193-026-X}}</ref> Although [[Biography:Robert Kaye Greville|R. K. Greville]] published his ''Algae Britannicae'' as early as 1830, it was not until 1902 with the publication of ''A Catalogue of the British Marine Algae''<ref>Batters, Edward Arthur Lionel (1902) ''A catalogue of the British Marine Algae being a list of all the species of seaweeds known to occur on the shores of the British Islands, with the localities where they are found'' Newman, London, {{OCLC|600805992}}, published as a supplement to ''Journal of Botany, British and Foreign''</ref> by Edward Arthur Lionel Batters that the systematic correlation of records, extensive distribution mapping and the development of [[Biology:Identification key|identification key]]s began in earnest.  In 1899-1900, Anna Weber-Van Bosse, a Dutch Phycologist travelled on the [[Earth:Siboga expedition|Siboga expedition]] and later in 1904, published ''[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/18871#page/6/mode/1up The Corallinaceae of the Siboga-expedition]''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Corallinaceae of the Siboga-expedition|last1=Weber-Van Bosse|first1=A.|last2=Foslie|first2=M.|publisher=F. J. Brill|year=1904}}</ref>

As early as 1803 [[Biography:Jean Pierre Étienne Vaucher|Jean Pierre Étienne Vaucher]] had published on the [[Biology:Isogamy|isogamy (sexual conjugation)]] in the algae, but it was in the early 20th century that reproduction and development began to be extensively studied.  The 1935 and 1945 comprehensive volumes of Felix Eugen Fritsch consolidated what was then known about the morphology and reproduction of the algae. This was followed in the 1950s by the development of area checklists, led by Mary Parke with her 1931 ''Manx Algae'' and followed in 1953 by her "A preliminary check-list of British marine algae"<ref>Parke, Mary W. (1953) [http://sabella.mba.ac.uk/1579/01/A_preliminary_check-list_of_British_marine_algae.pdf "A preliminary check-list of British marine algae"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826140914/http://sabella.mba.ac.uk/1579/01/A_preliminary_check-list_of_British_marine_algae.pdf |date=2011-08-26 }} ''Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom'' 32(2): pp.&nbsp;497&ndash;520; revised and corrected through the [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=4315664 third revision of 1976]</ref> Although Lily Newton's 1931 ''Handbook''<ref>Newton, Lily (1931) ''A Handbook of the British Seaweeds'' British Museum, London</ref> provided the first identification key for the algae of the British Isles, it was the 1960s before the development of such keys became routine. The 1980s with the new emphasis on ecology<ref>Walter, Heinrich and Breckle, Siegmar-Walter (1983) ''Ökologie der Erde: : Geo-Biosphäre: Band 1, Ökologische Grundlagen in globaler Sicht'' (''Ecology of the Earth: the geobiosphere: Volume 1, Ecological principles in a global perspective'') Fischer, Stuttgart, Germany,  {{ISBN|3-437-20297-9}}; in German</ref> saw increased study of algal communities, and the place of algae in larger plant communities, and provided an additional tool for explaining geographical variation.<ref>Stevenson, R. Jan; Bothwell, Max L. and Lowe, Rex L. (1996) ''Algal ecology: freshwater benthic ecosystems'' Academic Press, San Diego, California, [https://books.google.com/books?id=gl7hw2WLAlcC&pg=PA23 page 23], {{ISBN|0-12-668450-2}}</ref><ref>Figueiras, F. G.; Picher, G. C. and Estrada, M. (2008) "Chapter 10: Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics in Relation to Physical Processes" [https://books.google.com/books?id=-707tqiXoZUC&pg=PA130 page 130] ''In'' Granéli, E. and Turner, J. T. (2008) ''Ecology of Harmful Algae'' Springer, Berlin, pp. 127&ndash;138, {{ISBN|3-540-74009-0}}</ref>

The continent with the richest diversity of seaweeds is {{wipe|Australia}}, which has 2,000 species.<ref name=Marine>{{cite web|title=Marine algae|url=http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/science/Plant_Diversity_Research/marine_algae|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust|access-date=21 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906104354/https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/science/Plant_Diversity_Research/marine_algae|archive-date=6 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Notable phycologists==
* Isabella Abbott (1919–2010)
* [[Biography:Carl Adolph Agardh|Carl Adolph Agardh]] (1785–1859)
* [[Biography:Jacob Georg Agardh|Jacob Georg Agardh]] (1813–1901)
* M. S. Balakrishnan (1917–1990)
* Elsie M. Burrows (1913–1986)
* Margaret Constance Helen Blackler (1902–1981)
* Elsie Conway (1902–1992), President of the [[Organization:British Phycological Society|British Phycological Society]] 1965–1967.
* E. Yale Dawson (1918–1966)
* [[Biography:Giovanni Battista de Toni|Giovanni Battista de Toni]] (1864–1924)
* Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker (1901–1957)
* Sylvia Alice Earle (1935– )
* Nathaniel Lyon Gardner (1864-1937)
* [[Biography:Robert Kaye Greville|Robert Kaye Greville]] (1794–1866)
* [[Biography:Michael D. Guiry|Michael D. Guiry]] (1949- )
* Lena Tracy Hanks (1879–1944)
* M. O. P. Iyengar  (1886-1986)
* [[Biography:Eifion Jones|Eifion Jones]] (1925–2004)
* Vasudeva Krishnamurthy (1921–2014)
* Friedrich Traugott Kützing (1807–1893)
* [[Biography:Marie Lemoine|Marie Lemoine]] (1887–1984) 
* Diane S. Littler (1945- )
* Hans Christian Lyngbye (1782–1837)
* Carola Ivena Meikle (1900-1970)
* Irene Manton (1904–1988)
* Valerie May (1916-2007)
* [[Biography:Carl Nägeli|Carl Nägeli]] (1817–1891)
* Lily Newton (1893–1981)
* Friedrich Oltmanns (1860–1945)
* [[Biography:William J. Oswald|William J. Oswald]] (1919–2005)
* Mary Parke (1908–1989)
* Franz Josef Ruprecht (1814–1870)
* William Albert Setchell (1864–1943)
* Paul Silva (1922–2014)
* Gilbert Morgan Smith (1885-1959)
* [[Biography:John Stackhouse (botanist)|John Stackhouse]] (1742–1819)
* [[Biography:William Randolph Taylor|William Randolph Taylor]] (1895–1990)
* [[Biography:Vittore Benedetto Antonio Trevisan de Saint-Léon|Vittore Benedetto Antonio Trevisan de Saint-Léon]] (1818–1897)
* [[Biography:Gavino Trono|Gavino Trono]], (1931-) Filipino marine biologist noted for research on seaweeds
* [[Biography:Máirin de Valéra|Máirin de Valéra]] (1912–1984)
* Anna Weber-van Bosse (1852-1942)
* George Stephen West (1876-1919)
* William West (1848–1914)
* William West Jr (1875–1901)
* [[Biography:Carl Ludwig Willdenow|Carl Ludwig Willdenow]] (1765–1812)

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Biology:Algaculture}}
* {{annotated link|Biology:Algae fuel}}
* {{annotated link|Biology:History of phycology}}
* {{annotated link|Biology:Paleophycology}}
* {{annotated link|Organization:Phycological Society of America}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://ucsd.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=11931 Algae: The World's Most Important "Plants"] video lecture by Russell Chapman from 2006.
*[http://www.brphycsoc.org/ British Phycological Society]
*[http://www.intphycsoc.org/ International Phycological Society]
*[http://www.schweizerbart.de/j/algological-studies/ Algological] Studies is an international journal of phycology which publishes peer reviewed scientific papers of international significance from the entire field of algology (phycology)
*[http://www.algaebase.org/ AlgaeBase]
*[http://www.seaweed.ie/ Seaweed Site]
*[https://diatom.ansp.org/ ANSP Phycology Section]

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