ALGA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does alga mean? 

• ALGA (noun)
  The noun ALGA has 1 sense:

1. primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves

  Familiarity information: ALGA used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALGA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

alga; algae

Hypernyms ("alga" is a kind of...):

protoctist (any of the unicellular protists)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "alga"):

seaweed (plant growing in the sea, especially marine algae)

golden algae (algae having the pigments chlorophyll and carotene and xanthophyll)

yellow-green algae (any alga of the division Chrysophyta with its chlorophyll masked by yellow pigment)

diatom (microscopic unicellular marine or freshwater colonial alga having cell walls impregnated with silica)

confervoid algae (algae resembling confervae especially in having branching filaments)

brown algae (algae having the chlorophyll masked by brown and yellow pigments)

euglenid; euglenoid; euglenophyte (marine and freshwater green or colorless flagellate organism)

chlorophyte; green algae (algae that are clear green in color; often growing on wet ricks or damp wood or the surface of stagnant water)

chlorella (any alga of the genus Chlorella)

red algae (marine algae in which the chlorophyll is masked by a red or purplish pigment; source of agar and carrageenan)

cryptomonad; cryptophyte (common in fresh and salt water appearing along the shore as algal blooms)

Derivation:

algal (of or relating to alga)

 Context examples 

When reefs are dominated by fleshy algae, most of the energy in the ecosystem goes to the microbes.

(Too much algae and too many microbes threaten coral reefs, NSF)

By showing how genes for domoic acid production are turned on, the authors suggest a way to connect the ocean conditions that drive algae blooms with the development of toxin production.

(Scientists discover genetic basis for how harmful algae blooms become toxic, National Science Foundation)

It is synthesized by several unicellular algae and some terrestrial plants.

(Brassicasterol, NCI Thesaurus)

A chemical process that occurs in plants, algae, and some types of bacteria, when they are exposed to sunlight.

(Photosynthesis, NCI Dictionary)

Occurs in plants, algae, cyanobacteria and lichens.

(Photosynthesis, NCI Thesaurus)

This term is to be used for the macro-algae, Embryophytes (mosses), and Tracheophytes (angiosperms, gymnosperms, etc.)

(Plant Genetics, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

Microorganisms include bacteria, protozoa, algae, and fungi.

(Microorganism, NCI Dictionary)

The science that deals with the study of microorganisms, including algae, archaea, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses.

(Microbiology, NCI Thesaurus)

An environmental stress indicator for coral; if conditions for corals are not optimum, the corals will expel the algae that live among the living polyps, therefore giving the colony a bleached appearance.

(Coral bleaching, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

A class of compounds isolated from a marine cyanobacterium species (blue green alga).

(Curacin Compound, NCI Thesaurus)