Kingdom Protista

Chapter 20

What is a protist? • any organism that is not a plant,

animal, fungus, or prokaryote.

• Domain Eukarya, Kingdom Protists• Eukaryotic – HAVE A NUCLEUS• Mostly unicellular• Heterotrophic or autotrophic• Aquatic or moist habitats

• Heterotrophic • feed on bacteria, organic matter, other

protozoans, and fungi

Animal-like Protists - Protozoans

Grouped according to movementSarcodines – move by pseudopod

“false feet”Ciliates – move with cilia

Tiny hair-like projectionsZooflagellates – move by flagella

Long whip-like structureSporozoans - parasitic

Plant-like ProtistsAutotrophic – carry out photosynthesis

•Phytoplankton (small, unicellular algae found near the surface of bodies of water)

•produce about 75% of the Earth’s oxygen

•Basis of most aquatic food chains

Dinoflagellates• Red tides – increased nutrients cause protists to grow out of control

• Some species produce a strong nerve toxin that gets into shellfish and can harm you if you eat it.

Diatoms• cell walls made of silicon• used to make toothpaste

abrasive and road paint

Algae• used in sushi, ice cream, agar,

deodorant, hair conditioner, salad dressing, pudding

Fungus-like protists• decomposers, have

cell walls, and reproduce by spores

• slime molds, water molds, and mildew

• Attack potatoes, cabbage, and corn

• The Great Hunger was caused by this group of protists

• Plasmodium—carried by Anopholes mosquito• causes malaria

• Trypanosoma—carried by the tsetse fly• causes African sleeping sickness

• Giardia, Entamoeba, Cryptosporidium• causes amoebic dysentery

Diseases cause by Sporozoans:

• Toxoplasma gondii• Causes toxoplasmosis, can be contracted from an infected cat or poorly cooked meat. Harmful to a developing fetus.