Protist Kingdom

Question 1

Describe protists characteristics (6)

Answer 1

• 1.5B years
• Eukaryotic (have membrane-bound nucleus)
• Single-celled (few multicellular)
• Reproduce as/sexually
• Live in aquatic/moist habitats
• Includes plankton

Question 2

What are the two types of protist plankton?

Answer 2

Zooplankton: animal-like heterotrophs
Phytoplankton: photosynthetic autotrophs

Question 3

What are the 3 protist groups?

Answer 3

• Animal-like
• Plant-like
• Fungi-like

Question 4

Describe animal-like protists (4)

Answer 4

Phylum: protozoa
Heterotrophs (ingest/absorb organisms and dead matter)
Parasitic
Classified based on locomotion … pseudopods

Question 5

How does movement by pseudopods work?

Answer 5

Cytoplasmic extension and retraction to engulf food particles via phagocytosis (ingesting of particles)

Question 6

What are the 3 groups of animal-like protists?

Answer 6

Flagellates
Sporozoans
Ciliates

Question 7

Describe flagellates

Answer 7

• Move using whip-like flagella
• Some parasitic, living in bloodstream, causing disease in animals
• Ex: amoeba

Question 8

Describe sporozoans

Answer 8

• Not motile (glide, stick to surfaces), require host for transportation
• All parasitic
• Ex: plasmodium vivax (maleria)

Question 9

Describe ciliates

Answer 9

• Move by cilia (“synchronized swimming”)
• Ex: paramecium

Question 10

Describe plant-like protists

Answer 10

• Aquatic habitat
• Autotrophic (photosynthetic)
• Organisms containing chlorophyll
  Ex: algae

Question 11

Describe algae

Answer 11

• 2B years old
• Supply 2/3 of world oxygen
• Primary food producer
• Source of energy for aquatic food webs
• Not a real taxonomic group

Question 12

Describe fungi-like protists

Answer 12

• Live on dead organic matter, resemble fungi at some point during life cycle
  Ex: slime molds, water molds

Question 13

Describe slime molds

Answer 13

• Live on dead logs, grass, etc
• Most of life spent as an amoeba, feeding on bacteria
• Small cells merge into multinucleated single cell plasmodium due to food shortage
• Plasmodium contains thousands of nuclei, no cell wall (largest single-celled organism)

Question 14

Describe water molds

Answer 14

• Important decomposers in aquatic environment
• Filamentous (appearing to have threads)
• Grow on surface of dead matter
• Decompose matter, absorb nutrients
• Living in moist areas, water
• Grow as masses of fuzzy white threads on dead material

Question 15

Describe protist reproduction

Answer 15

Asexual (Binary fission)
Sexual (conjugation, spore formation in multi-stage life cycle)