Protists
Eukaryotes - Kingdom Protista
They are not...
- Animals - do not reproduce via a blastula
- But they can move about
- Some are heterotrophs eating other organisms
- Plants – lack flowers and reproduce asexually
- But some have chloroplasts
- Fungus – do not reproduce via spores
- But some are types of molds
- A group of small organisms that do not fit into the other Eukaryotic kingdoms
Phylum Heterokontophyta
- Diatoms
- Type of algae
- Unicellular – many are aggregate
- Cell wall made of SiO2 – called frustule
- Pores allow gas and nutrient exchange
- Decomposition analysis useful in geological record
- Asexual reproduction
The Important Little Life of Dylan Diatom
Phylum Dinoflagellata
- Dinoflagellates
- Type of algae
- Unicellular
- Have 2 flagella
- One wraps around groove in middle of cell
- One is free
- Asexual reproduction
- Contribute to red algal blooms
- Provide surface bioluminescence (see article handouts)
Phylum Cryptophyta
- Cryptophytes
- 2 flagella (one short, one long)
- Photosynthetic
- Plankton - collection of microscopic organisms that float in mass
- Can contribute to the formation of harmful algal blooms
Phylum Granuloreticulosa
- Foraminiferans
- Have shell made of CaCO3 - called a test
- Grows as organism grows
- Some are agglutinated (cemented together), others are crystals interlocked together
- Move using pseudopods
- Attached forams contribute to calcareous sediments (a la White Cliffs of Dover)
- Fossils can help estimate past water temperature
- Warm water = larger and more porous
- Cool water = smaller and less porous
Phylum Polycystina
- Radiolarians
- Secrete SiO2 shells
- Typically covered in spines
- Pseudopodia capture food
- Some form colonies (up to 3m long!)
Phylum Ciliophora
- Ciliates
- Covered by cilia
- Two nuclei
- Some have protective covering called lorica
- Undergo asexual reproduction, although some perform conjugation and exchanged genetic material