protists Flashcards
What are Protists?
_____Eukaroytic_____________ microbes (first cells with a ___nucleus______________!!!)
Great ecological diversity (__65 k_________ – _____200 k_______ species)
Examples: _amoebas______________, ______paramecium_____________, ____diatoms_______________
Characteristics:
Appeared about 1.5 billion years ago
All are ___eukaryotic____________
Most protists are ___unicellular____________, some are ___multi-cellular___________________
Some reproduce _asexually______________ (binary fission) & some __sexually________ (conjugation)
Most live in water (fresh/salt water), damp areas (i.e. moist soil), animal fluids (i.e. human blood)
Can be called the miscellaneous group
Fungi, plants, & animals evolved from protists!
Protist Classification:
Protists are classified based on:
How they obtain __nutrition ________________
How they ____mvoe______________
Methods of Obtaining Energy:
_____Photoautotrophs__________________: use chloroplasts to convert the sun’s energy into food
____Heterotrophs___________________: Ingest food particles from their environment for energy
___Mixotrophs____________________: Ingest food particles AND use the sun’s energy for food
Methods of Movement:
______Pseudopods_________________: “false feet” (e.g. amoeba)
_____Cillia__________________: short, hair-like projections (e.g. paramecium)
____Flagella___________________: long, hair-like projections (e.g. Leishmania)
___passive movement____________________: using wind and water currents
_____Spores__________________: use a host (e.g. plasmodium)
Protists can be grouped according to three lifestyles:
Plant-like Protists
Animal-like Protists
Fungus-like Protists
Plant–like Protists:
Commonly called ____“Algae”_____________
Contain ______cholorphyll_______________ & carry out photosynthesis
most autotrophic but some are ____mixtotrophs________________________
_Acessory___________________ pigments give algae a variety of colors (red/ green)
Reproduce ___asexually__________ (most common) & sexually
Live in wet/moist environments (ponds)
Dinoflagellates and zooflagellates help to make up ____plankton___________ which is the foundation of most aquatic food webs
Role of phytoplankton (made up of some protists, some bacteria, some single-celled plants) in the ecosystem:
___Primary food____________ in aquatic food chains
Supply 2/3 of world’s _oxygen___________
Used to make __agar____ (used in medical facilities)
4 groups of plant-like protists:
Euglenoids
Diatoms
Dinoflagellates
Algae
Harmful Algal Blooms:
If temperature and rainfall increase, then ___algae__________ may occur.
This is when algae reproduces so _quickly__________ and _massive_________ numbers results.
If red algae (dinoflagellates) bloom, then a condition called “___red tide_________” results where ocean waters literally appear red
Harmful Algal Blooms produce a ___toxin________ which can contaminate shellfish, causing people to become ill when these are eaten.
Animal–like Protists:
also called __PROTOZOANS__________________
____(meaning “first animal”___________________
reproduce via binary fission
are ___heterotophs____________ that capture and ingest their food
4 Phyla of animal-like protists (classified by how they ___move________)
Cercozoans: MOve and feed using pseudopods.
Ciliates: mOve and gather food using cilia
Flagellates: mOve using 1 or 2 flagella
Sporozoans: DO not move on their own ( parasitic)
Fungus-like Protists
resemble fungi in appearance & lifestyle, but they differ from true fungi at ___at the celullar level__________________
are heterotrophs - feed on ____bacteria_____________ & ____decaying organic matter____________ material, classifying them further as ___decomposers___________________
reproduce _______asexually_____________ through spores
prefer cool, shady, and moist places
