Westarctica: Created page with "Penguin walking on a green carpet of Prasiola crispa on a subantarctic island. '''''Prasiola crispa''''' is a fresh water..."

2018-07-09T05:36:27Z

Created page with "thumb|Penguin walking on a green carpet of Prasiola crispa on a subantarctic island. '''''Prasiola crispa''''' is a fresh water..."

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[[File:Prasiola crispa - Penguin Walking.jpg|thumb|Penguin walking on a green carpet of Prasiola crispa on a subantarctic island.]]
'''''Prasiola crispa''''' is a fresh water and marine green algae. Each individual plant is small but they usually grow side by side to form a green turf on rock surfaces. Among the algae present in the [[Antarctic]] ice-free areas, ''Prasiola crispa'' is the most commonly found organism and is among the most important primary producers on the continent of Antarctica.

==Morphology==
The morphology of these algae varies from unisserated filaments to stalks in the form of a tape, expanded blades or packages as colonies, which are characterized by a large phenotypic plasticity related to environmental factors.

During the course of the seasons, ''P. crispa'' needs to tolerate extreme environments, such as repeated freeze and thaw cycles, physiological drought, salinity stress, and high levels of UV radiation. However, the genes associated with these adaptive characteristics in ''P. crispa'' remain unknown.

==Distribution==
[[File:Lindsey Island Algae.png|thumb|Carpet of Prasiola crispa on Lindsey Island]]
''P. crispa'' occurs in hydro-terrestrial soils, in the supralittoral zones of continental Antarctica, where they form large and green carpets on the humid soil. ''P. crispa'' is mainly found adjacent to [[penguin]] colonies, where the soil is rich in guano, a substrate with a high incidence of uric acid and nitrogen compounds.

There are significant amounts of ''Prasiola crispa'' throughout [[Westarctica]], especially in the coastal areas. In particular, the presence of ''P. crispa'' has been documented by recent scientific observations at the following locations:

* [[Lindsey Islands]]
* [[Russkaya Station]]
* [[Rockefeller Plateau|Rockefeller Mountains]]

[[Category:Plants of Westarctica]]

Prasiola crispa - Revision history

Westarctica: Created page with "Penguin walking on a green carpet of Prasiola crispa on a subantarctic island. '''''Prasiola crispa''''' is a fresh water..."