Diversity of life: Photosynthetic organisms in the eukaryotic tree of life

autotrophic

able to acquire energy from the sun

Green algae

The clade which gave rise to terrestrial plants

Red algae

colour aqquired via gain of accessory pigments such as phycobilins making plastids look red.

Euglenids

derived from animal groups which absorbed photosynthetic capabilities from green algae. regarded as plants

Haptophytes

abundant marine algal group forming the white cliffs of dover. absorbed red algae in their ancestry

Dinoflagellates

absorbed red algae to become a major group of algae. hiighly toxic to fish and swimmers, found on polluted coastlines

Diatoms

Aqquired red algae

brown algae

red algal symbionts

Chrysophytes

a group of golden-brown algae commonly found in marine and freshwater environments, known for their silica-based cell walls and contributions to aquatic food webs.