What is Trichodesmium?
Q: What is Trichodesmium?
A: Trichodesmium is a genus of filamentous cyanobacteria.
Q: Where is Trichodesmium commonly found?
A: Trichodesmium is most common around Australia and in the Red Sea.
Q: What are some characteristics of the waters where Trichodesmium is found?
A: The waters where Trichodesmium is found are nutrient-poor and tropical or subtropical.
Q: What is Trichodesmium's role in the ecosystem?
A: Trichodesmium is a diazotroph, meaning it fixes atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium, a nutrient used by other organisms.
Q: How significant is Trichodesmium's nitrogen fixing ability?
A: Trichodesmium is thought to fix nitrogen on such a scale that it accounts for almost half of the nitrogen fixation in marine systems globally.
Q: What is another name for Trichodesmium?
A: Trichodesmium is also known as "sea sawdust".
Q: Who discovered Trichodesmium?
A: Captain Cook was the first to describe Trichodesmium when he found it in the Red Sea.