Name: __________________
Hr: _____
Kingdom Protista Survey Lab
Intro: The kingdom Protista is a diverse group that includes more than 200,000 species. Protists
are living organisms that are not plants, animals, fungus, or prokaryotes. Today you will use the
microscope to observe and draw several different kinds of protists. It may be hard to view these
organisms under the microscope—be patient! Usually protists are divided into 3 groups: Autotrophic,
Heterotrophic and Symbiotic.
Procedure:
Make a slide of the “Mixed Protists” specimens. There are several species of protist
in the jar, see if you can find the ones that are listed below. Draw a picture in the box.
Autotrophic Protists
Volvox.
Volvox is a large colonial flagellate, a kind of green algae.
This green alga is common in lakes and ponds. Each individual cell
consists of two flagella. Draw 1 or 2 Volvox in the box.
1. Why are the Volvox green?
2. What is the function of the 2 flagella?
3. What advantage may there be in the shape of the Volvox?
Spirogyra.
Spirogyra is another species of green freshwater
algae. They too look like green scum on a pond when large
enough colonies are present. Spirogyra gets its name for the
chloroplast that is wound in a spiral. Draw an example of
Spirogyra in the box below.
1. Why does the spirogyra live on the surface of the ponds
they inhabit?
Green algae in general live in eutrophic waters. Eutrophic water is high in minerals and nutrients
but low in oxygen.
2. How might this affect other organisms, like fish, that live in the water?
Heterotrophic Protist lab
Euglena The euglena is usually found in fresh water ponds and slow moving streams.
They are both animal-like and plant-like: they can photosynthesize, but will eat other
organisms too.
In cultures, it makes up the parts of the greenish scum on top of the
water or along the side exposed to the sunlight.
1. What is the color in the cell and how is it distributed?
2. Look really hard at the end of the euglena and find the
flagella. What is it used for? Does the euglena push or
pull its way through the water?
3. Find a very small red eyespot.
What is the function?
Amoeba
Amoeba may be found at the bottom of pools and slow moving streams or on
the surface of leaves on aquatic plants. Some are even parasites and live in animals
bodies. In the culture jar, look for them along the sides or in the sediment at the bottom.
They are difficult to find on a slide! Let the teacher know if you find
one.
1. How does the amoeba move?
2. What are the extensions of the protoplasm called? Are
there more than one of these extensions forming at one
time?
3. Under high power notice now the cytoplasm moves, or streams, more rapidly in the
center than near the outside. Locate a food vacuole circulating around. How did
food get into the amoeba?
Paramecium
The paramecium is very abundant in stagnant, not moving, water where it is
often found in the scum which form on the surface. They can also be found in the
decaying plant and animal matter on the bottom of lakes and ponds.
1. Describe the movement of the paramecium.
2. What structures do they use for locomotion or
movement?
3. The outer edge of the cell is called the pellicle. Look at
your paramecium. Does the pellicle give a definite shape? Or is
it flexible?
4. Blepharisma looks very similar to the Paramecium, it is larger and a different color.
Locate Blepharisma on your slide, what color is it?
Peranema
Peranema is very similar to one of the other protists that we looked at, the
euglena. They have similar methods of locomotion (movement). They eat detritus (dead
organic matter), bacteria and algae.
1. How does the peranema move?
2. How does it look different from the euglena?
3. How is it’s lifestyle different from the euglena?
Stentor
Stentor belongs to the phylum Ciliaphoria. Stentor hosts many Zoochlorellae which
makes this species green.
stentor.
The Zoochlorella are algae that live in a symbiotic relationship with the
1. How is stentor similar to the paramecium?
2. What does symbiosis mean?
3. Stentor do not use their cilia for movment.
After observing them, hypothesize how they
might use their cilia.
Guide to the Protists:
Amoeba
Spirogyra
Euglena
Stentor
Paramecium
Volvox
Peranema