Sargassum

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/sargassum

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Sargassum
2. What is the reproduction?Primarily asexual via fragmentation; holopelagic species are entirely dependent on this method
3. What is Sargassum and why does it float?Sargassum is a type of brown seaweed that can float on the ocean surface, forming large mats that look like forests.
4. Where do Sargassum mats usually grow?Many grow near coasts and coral reefs, but two species, Sargassum natans and Sargassum fluitans, live all the time in open water and drift with currents.

Macroalgae: Large, multicellular algae, commonly known as seaweed, that grow in marine and freshwater environments.
Holopelagic: Organisms that inhabit the entire water column of the open ocean, never coming into contact with the seabed or shore.
Hypoxia: A condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level.
Asexual Reproduction: A mode of reproduction that does not involve meiosis or fertilization, resulting in offspring genetically identical to the parent.