Chapter 21.3 Flashcards
What protist group causes giardiasis, how does it enter the body (2), and what are the symptoms?
Flagellate, cyst in water, severe diarrhea and intestinal cramps
What protist group causes amebic dysentery, how does it enter the body, what are the symptoms, and it there anything special about this disease?
Amobiod, water, there is a mild form and a severe one that causes pain, bloody diarrhea, and fever that could spread into the liver, lungs or brain and could be fatal
What protist group causes toxoplasmosis, how is it spread and what are the symptoms?
Sporozoan, spores in cat feces or undercooked meat, mild flu symptoms unless the infected is pregnant when the fetus can suffer eye or brain damage
What protist group causes trichomoniasis, how is it spread and what are the symptoms?
Flagellate, sexually transmitted, men do not usually have symptoms, but women have discolored discharge, genital itching and the urge to urinate, if she is infected while pregnant her child may be born prematurely or with low birth weight
What protist group causes cryptosporidiosis, how is it spread and what are the symptoms?
Sporozoan, water, objects, or undercooked food, most common symptoms are cramps and diarrhea, people with compromised immune systems may have prolonged cases
What protist group causes chagas disease, how is it spread and what are the symptoms?
Flagellate, kissing bug in South and Central South America, early stage has little or no symptoms but the chronic stage can result in heart disease, abnormal heartbeat, heart failure, heart attack, and the enlargement of the esophagus and the large intestine
What protist group causes malaria, how is it spread (with stages and terms), what are the symptoms and how can it be avoided?
Sporozoans (Plasmodium), mosquito (Anopheles) spreads it through saliva, first stage infects the liver (sporozite) and the second stage infects the red blood cells (merozoite). As the red blood cells die it causes anemia and cycles of fever (malaria can hide in the liver) and may cause rupture of the spleen, kidney damage, coma, brain failure, and death. It can kill up to 3 million people a year, but can be avoided with insecticide treated mosquito nets, fumigation, and possibly with the vaccine
What are three ways protists are important to the environment (gases and nutrients)?
They produce half of Earth’s oxygen, consume CO2 (plantlike), and many are decomposers
Why are protists important to the food web?
They form the base of almost all aquatic food chains
What are algal blooms?
A rapid increase in the population of algae in an aquatic ecosystem, when the algae die the bacteria that decompose them deplete the oxygen levels and kill off marine life
What is a red tide and what is another type of dinoflagellate?
A red tide is caused by a bloom of dinoflagellates that produce powerful toxins, humans can become sick if they eat fish or shellfish during a red tide. A genus of dinoflagellates, Pfiesteria produces a airborne toxin that can cause memory and concentration problems as well as skin rashes.
What are two ways protists are symbiotic (general)?
Some live with corals, some live in the digestive tract of animals
What are three ways protists aid industry?
Algae make carrageenan and agar used as thickening agents, the shells of diatoms are used in toothpaste and diatomaceous earth, protists are important in biological research such as to study ribosomes, cell aging, cell communication, and cell cycle control
