Many lakes in the United States are suffering from periodic algae blooms, which can be thought of as an infection of the lake. A
lthough the algae are naturally-occurring in the lake, when adjacent farm fields are over-fertilized with diammonium phosphate, the run-off deposits these nutrients in the lake, allowing the algae to grow without limit. Which of the following statements is incorrect regarding the overgrowth of algae? a. The algae are heterotrophs.
b. The nitrogen in the fertilizer is in the ammonium form, the preferred nitrogen source of most microbes.
c. The phosphorus in the fertilizer is in the phosphate form, the preferred phosphorus source of most microbes.
d. The carbon source for these algae is not limiting in lakes.
e. Lakes have sufficient micronutrients for algae to grow
Algae which are heterotrophic obtain nutrients from complex organic substances. Thus, this type of algae is a consumer. This is in contrast to autotrophs, which form their own organic substances from simple inorganic substances. They produce their own energy
The diammonium phosphate which run off until the lake nourish these algae and make them grow without limit.
The incorrect answer is the letter a. The algae are heterotrophs
Explanation:
Algae are characterized by being single-celled or multicellular eukaryotic organisms that, for the most part, have a cell wall formed of cellulose and some other substance such as agar, carrageenan, calcium carbonate, etc. In addition, algae are autotrophic, that is, they are capable of photosynthesis and synthesize organic molecules (food) from inorganic substances and sunlight energy.
