Kingdom Protista
Unicellular plants and animals
General Information

Protista, from the Greek protistos = first

Diverse group

Aka Algae & Protozoa

Most are Unicellular
exception: Volvox is colonial
Characteristics
1.
Eukaryotic
(have a nucleus)
Characteristics
2.
Feeding Patterns
a. Autotrophs
(plant-like)
b. Heterotrophs
(animal-like)
c. Saprophytes (absorb food like fungi
do)
d. Parasites
(pathogens)
3. Habitats
Almost anywhere there is water
5. Origins
First eukaryotes probably endosymbionts
✰Bacteria living inside other bacteria
evolved to become organelles
Cyanobacteria inside protist Cyanophora
5. Reproduction
a.
Alternation of Generations
☯ switch btwn. asexual repro. (spores)
& sexual repro. (gametes) & back again
6. Multicellularity
❀
Cells specialized
for f(x)s
❀ Division of labor
❀ E.g. holdfast cell,
gamete-forming
cells
Holdfast cell
7. Classification by Exclusion
✿ If organism doesn’t belong in any other
phylum, put it in this one!
I.e. Weirdos go in this group!
8. Protist Groups
a.
Pseudopodia for locomotion
= “false feet”
Animal-like, parasites
AMOEBAS
E.g. ★Amoeba
E.g. Entamoeba
histolytica
(amoebic dysentary)
8. Protist Groups
b. Foraminifera
Source of CaCo3
(calcium carbonate / chalk)
E.g. The
white cliffs
of Dover
8. Protist Groups
c. Diatoms
Photosynthetic, unicellular, double shells
of SiO3(glass)
8. Protist Groups
d. Green Algae
plant-like protists
E.g. ★Volvox, endosymbionts of jellyfish
8. Protist Groups
e. Red Algae
Source of agar
(growth medium
for bacteria)
8. Protist Groups
f. Brown
Algae
E.g.
kelp
8. Protist Groups
Protists with
Flagella (animal-like)
g. Dinoflagellates
E.g. Gonyaulux
Capable of
bioluminescence
(glowing in the dark)
the red tide
makes scallops
toxic to humans
Red (Crimson) Tide
8. Protist Groups

h. Zoomastigina
✰Causes giardia /
backpackers’ disease
✰Trichonympha in termites
digest wood (cellulose)
8. Protist Groups
i.
Euglenoids e.g. ★Euglena
★use flagella to move
8. Protist Groups
j. Cilia for locomotion -Ciliates)
★Paramecium
8. Protist Groups
k. Slime
Molds
 Cellular
 Acellular
8. Protist Groups
l. Water Molds
E.g. potato blight
Caused potato famine
in Ireland
1845-1847
400,000 starved
8. Protist Groups
m. ★Sporozoans
 Cannot
move themselves
 Move via vectors = transmit a
disease from one animal to
another
m. ★Sporozoans
EXAMPLES:
E.g. Plasmodium (causes malaria)
vector = Anopheles mosquito
E.g. Toxoplasmolysis (from cat feces
causes fetal death)
E.g. African sleeping sickness
vector = tsetse fly