Bellringer 1/14/16
Standard: Protista
Unit: 5
Learning Target: I can describe characteristics of animallike, plant-like and fungus-like protists and give examples
Read the passage “What is a Protist?” on page 227
of your textbook and answer the questions below.
1) What is a protist?
2) Which way do we classify protists?
Bellringer 1/14/16 - Answers
1) What is a protist?
Protists are Eukaryotes (true nucleus) that cannot be
classified as animals, plants or fungi.
CALLED “ODDS AND ENDS” KINGDOM
2) Which way do we classify protists?
Animal-like, plant-like and fungus-like protists
Domain: Eukarya
General characteristics
 All protists are EUKARYOTES
 They can’t be classified as animals, plants or fungi
 Most are unicellular (ONE CELL)
 All protists live in moist environment
 3 major groups:
 Animal-like protists
 Plant-like protists
 Fungus-like protists
Animal-like protists
 A.K.A. “protozoans”
 Heterotrophs
 Unicellular
 Move to get food
 Move by PSEUDOPODS (Amoeba) – extensions of cell membrane and cytoplasm
 Move by FLAGELLA (Giardia) – longer than cilia (one or just a few)
 Move by CILIA (Paramecium) – many short hair-like structures
Amoeba
Paramecium
Giardia
Plant-like protists
 A.K.A “algae” or “phytoplankton”
 Autotrophs
 Most are unicellular
 They use pigment to capture light and
make their own food (AUTOTROPH)
 Some can move using flagella
 Live in upper layers of water bodies (need sunlight)
 Good food source for other aquatic organisms
 Produce a majority of Earth’s oxygen
Slime mold
Fungus-like protists
 Heterotrophs
 decomposers: feed on dead/decaying organisms)
 They have a cell wall made of chitin (type of sugar)
 Reproduce by spores
 Can move at some point in their life cycle
 Slime molds
 Water molds
 Downy mildews
Water Mold
Reproduction
Asexual (many protists)
 Binary fission: single cell divides
into 2 identical cells
 Multiple fission: single cell divides
into 3 or more identical cells
Protists that are parasites have
complex reproduction cycles (some
stages in one host, then a second
stage in a vertebrate host)
Sexual (example: Paramecium)
 Conjugation: 2 individuals join and
exchange genetic material by
swapping their small nucleus, then
each divide producing 4 new
individuals
Examples of parasitic protists:
 Plasmodium vivax (malaria)
 Giardia sp.
Nutrition
 Heterotroph
 Autotroph
 Mixotroph
• Animal-like
Heterotroph
• Fungus-like
Autotroph
• Plant-like
Feed on
other
organisms
MAKE THEIR
OWN FOOD!
Photosynthesis
Mixotroph
• Some fungus-like
• Some plant-like
BOTH
(depends on
conditions)
Bellringer 1/19/16
Standard: Fungi
Unit: 5
Learning Target: I can describe the characteristics that Fungi share
Read the passage “What are Fungi?” on page 236
from your textbook and answer the following
questions.
1) What are Fungi?
2) What kind of environment do Fungi need to grow?
Bellringer 1/19/16 - Answers
1) What are Fungi?
Fungi are EUKARYOTES that have cell walls, are
heterotrophs that feed by absorbing their food, and use
spores to reproduce.
2) What kind of environment do Fungi need to grow?
They need moist and warm places to grow (moist foods,
damp tree barks, lawns coated with dew, wet bathroom
tiles, etc.)
Domain: Eukaryotes
Mushrooms, molds and yeasts
General Information
 Soil dwelling decomposer mostly
 Resemble plants, but are more closely related to animals
 Heterotrophs (absorption of food from environment)
 Cell wall made of chitin (same as Arthropods)
 Most Fungi have symbiotic relationships with plant roots
(mycorrhizae)
lichens and algae
 Increase surface area for water uptake
Body Structure
 Hyphae: tubular filaments
 Intertwined to form a Mycelium (extend above and below ground)
 Fungi can grow very fast – they just need moisture
Ecological Impact
 Decomposers: recycle nutrients back to environment
 Plant pathogens (disease): wheat rust, corn smut, Dutch Elm disease
 Human pathogens (disease): ringworm, athletes foot, jock itch, yeast
infections, dandruff
 Some are used as medicine
 Some are used as food
Bellringer 1/20/16
Standard: Fungi
Unit: 5
Learning Target: I can describe the ecological impact of fungi
Read the passage “The role of Fungi in Nature” on
pages 239-241 from your textbook and answer the
following questions.
1) How can Fungi be beneficial to other organisms?
2) How can Fungi be harmful to other organisms?
Bellringer 1/20/16 - Answers
1) How can Fungi be beneficial to other organisms?
Providing food, recycling materials (decomposing), fighting
disease, helping plants grow by associating with their roots,
help bacteria/algae grow in a lichen form
2) How can Fungi be harmful to other organisms?
They can cause diseases (Dutch Elm disease in elm trees,
corn smut and wheat rust in crops, athletes foot, ringworm,
etc.). Some mushrooms are toxic/poisonous.