Cyanobacteria

About Cyanobacteria:

• These are also called blue-green algae, microscopic organisms found naturally in all types of water.
• These single-celled organisms live in fresh, brackish (combined salt and fresh water), and marine water.
• These organisms use sunlight to make their own food.
• In warm, nutrient-rich (high in phosphorus and nitrogen) environments, cyanobacteria can multiply quickly, creating blooms that spread across the water’s surface.
• Cyanobacteria blooms can form in warm, slow-moving waters that are rich in nutrients from sources such as fertilizer runoff or septic tank overflows.
• It needs nutrients to survive. The blooms can form at any time, but most often form in late summer or early fall.

Key facts about Chonkus

• It was discovered in the shallow sunlit waters off the coast of Italy’s Vulcano Island, where volcanic gas-rich groundwater seeps into the sea.
• It has the capacity to absorb a lot more carbon than the average cyanobacteria floating in the ocean.

Q1: What is an Algae?

Algae are a diverse group of aquatic organisms that have the ability to conduct photosynthesis. Certain algae are familiar to most people; for instance, seaweeds (such as kelp or phytoplankton), pond scum or the algal blooms in lakes.

News: Meet Chonkus, the mutant cyanobacteria that could help sink climate change