Biodiversity: Protists Flashcards
(9 cards)
List the following: kingdom, example, cell type, number of cells, cell wall material, nutrition and primary means of reproduction
Kingdom: Protista
Example: Amoeba
Cell type: Eukaryotic
Number of cells: unicellular and multicellular
Cell wall material: cellulose in some or sometimes none
Nutrition: autotrophs and heterotrophs
Primary means of reproduction: sexual and asexual
Here are some facts to know
-most diverse kingdom
-traditionally defined all single celled organisms however some are multicellular
-catch all kingdom - organisms that do not fit into the definition of other kingdoms
What type of environment do protists live in?
All protists are aquatic. Some live in marine, freshwater, moist terrestrial environments and moist tissues
Some are parasitic
There is no typical protist. What does this mean?
The only characteristic protists share is that they are not plants, animals or fungi. Protists vary greatly
What are the 3 main groups of protists?
Animal like protists: heterotrophs, some species are parasites, have a cystic phase (dormant), reproduce by binary fission but some sexually
Plant-like protists: make their own food by photosynthesis (autotrophs), some consume other organisms when light is unavailable, some live as symbionts with other organisms, eukaryotic, asexual and sexual reproduction, protists with cell wall made of cellulose and 2 flagella are called dinoflagellates. The photosynthetic organisms in plankton are called phytoplankton (protists) and are the base of the food chain.
Fungi-like protists:
Single celled or multicellular colonies, eukaryotic, heterotrophs - decomposers, saprophytic heterotrophs - (digest food externally and absorb it)
Why should pregnant woman not come in contact with cat litter box
This is because oocysts (parasitic protozoans) may be inhaled which can cause a disease called toxoplasmosis which can cause pregnancy complications
What are the phylums of Protozoa? Explain
Sarcodina: locomotion - pseudopodia, nutrition type - heterotrophic - some parasitic, representative genera - amoeba ENDOCYTOSIS: surrounds food with pseudopodia, cell membrane pinches together surrounding the food in a food vacuole. Enzymes digest the food and the undigested pieces leave the food vacuole in a process called exocytosis. Most Protozoa have contractile vacuoles which remove excess water from the cell
Ciliophora: locomotion - cilia, nutrition type - heterotrophic - some parasitic, representative genera - paramecium
Cilia sweeps food particles into the oral groove, the mouth pire opens into a gullet which pinches off to form a food vacuole. Nutrients are absorbed. Ejects waste through the anal pore. Have two distinct kinds of nuclei
Zoomastigina: locomotion - flagella, nutrition type - heterotrophic - some parasitic, representative genera - Trypanosoma
Live in the guts of termites and help termites digest food
Sporozoa: locomotion - none in adults, nutrition type - heterotrophic and some parasitic, representative genera - plasmodium
Cause many human diseases including malaria
What are the phyla of plant like protists? Explain
Rhodophyta: representative species (red algea), habitat - mostly marine low tidal zones, reproduction - sexual and asexual, non motile, used as emulsifier
Euglenoids: representative species (euglena), habitat - freshwater ponds and streams, reproduction - asexual, limited form of locomotion called euglenoid movement (some surface wave something) single celled and has both animal and plant characteristics
What are the phyla of fungus like protists?
Acellular slime molds: unicellular, a single mass of cytoplasm undivided by cell walls with many nuclei called a plasmodium (not to be confused with the one which causes malaria), eats like an amoeba
Cellular slime molds: individual cells with one nucleus each, ingest tiny bacteria or yeast cells
Water moulds: most live on dead organic matter however some are parasitic, extend fungus like threads into their hosts tissue and release digestive enzymes and absorb nutrients
