Kingdom+Protista

Kingdom Protista Protists are a very diverse group of organisms. They are somewhat difficult to classify, but there are some characteristics that can help to identify a protest.

· All protists are eukaryotic organisms. · Protists can be multicellular or unicellular, microscopic or very large, and heterotrophic or autotrophic. · Protozoa – Animal-like protists. These protists usually live in watery areas such as ponds. The majority reproduce asexually, but some reproduce sexually. They are unicellular and hunt for food Power of Protozoans are generally classified by how they move. The four major groups of protozoans are: · Ciliates, which are covered in cilia. They live in almost every aquatic habitat. They are unicellular, but very complex. They have many parts, such as the oral groove and gullet, which help it prey on small bacteria. · Flagellates, which move by cilia or flagella. Some are parasites. “In fact, flagellates are what cause African sleeping sickness” (506). · Pseudopodia, which extend the plasma membrane out and dragging themselves forward. “Pseudopodia” means “false foot.” These are also called amoebas, which live in saltwater or “oozy damp areas” (505). They reproduce asexually. · Sporozoans, which are like parasites that release spores. Each spore is a reproductive cell that does not require fertilization. They can also reproduce sexually. They cause many diseases in mammals and birds. such as malaria. · Wonderful World of Algae – Plant like protists, which do not have organs like roots, stems or leaves, but are autotrophic. They photosynthesize. Some algae contain up to four kinds of chlorophil, as well as other colored pigments. Algae produce most of the oxygen on the world. The first class of algae we are going to discover is the euglenoids. · Euglenoids are unicellular, and are aquatic. They lack a cell wall, but they do have a flexible pellicle, which is made of a protein that surrounds the cell membrane. Most euglenoids have chlorophil and photosynthesize, but when light is not available they “injest food in some ways that might remind you of protozoans” (511). They consume bacteria, and use flagella. · Diatoms: The Golden Age of Algae. They are unicellular, photosynthetic organisms with box like shells composed of cilica. They are very abundant in aquatic environments. They can reproduce both asexually and sexually. When they reproduce asexually, the two box halves of the shell split in half into two different organisms. To reproduce sexually, the box splits and gametes are released. · The Dinoflagellates: The Spinning Algae. They have thick cellulus plates that form their cell walls. Some look like suits of armour! They have many colors of pigments. Each dinoflagellate has two flagella, which are located so that the algae spins with they beat. Many live symbiotically with jellyfish, mollusks, and coral! Some are toxic!! · Red Algae: The Communists of the Algae World. Red algae grow in tropical waters and form large, complicated seaweed bodies. The seaweed has no roots, stems or leaves, but each part is composed of the red algae which photosynthesize. · Brown Algae: The Racist Algae. They contain a carotenoid called fucoxanthan, which gives them their brown color. Many species have air bladders that keep the floating seaweed near the surface and near the light. Kelp are the most complex form. Kelp contain a holdfast (like a root systemt), a stipe, a stiped, and a blade. · Green Algae: The Best Algae. They are the most diverse. The major pigment is green, hence the name green algae, hence the color green on the algae itself. Thus, they are called green algae. Green algae can be either unicellular or multicellular. Chlamydomonas is a unicellular and falgellated algae (515). Spirogyra is a multicellular species that forms slender filaments. Volvox is a green algae that can form a colony. · Some algae have a complex life cycle. Some algae have alternating cycles of mitosis and meiosis, of asexual and sexual reproduction.

Slime Molds, Water Molds, and Downy Mildews.

Freaking Fungi- like Protists – Fungus like protists · Decompose dead organisms, but · Are able to move at some points in their life and · Do not have chitin in their cell walls · Slime Molds: Slimy but beautiful. Many diverse colors, such as orange, blue, viio,et, or jet black. Live off of decaying organic matter. Slime Molds act like animals in the way they eat, but like fungi they reproduce with spores. Plasmoidal Slime Molds form a plasmoidium, a mass of cytoplasm and multiple diploid nuclei. Cellular Slime Molds eat, grow and live as single cell, however they can join together with many others to form a plasmoidium like structure. · Water Molds and Downy soft Mildews: So soft, a caveman could sleep on it! They feed on dead plants or animals, others feed on plant parasites. Water molds appear fuzzy. They produce flagellated reproductive cells, something that distinguishes them from fungus.

Protists may have been the root of plants and many other kingdoms, though it is not clear.