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Protist Rap
Structure
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A very diverse kingdom
– Called the „junk drawer‟ kingdom
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Members of this kingdom differ greatly in
size, shape, structure, complexity, feeding
habits, locomotion and reproduction
Structure
Despite this diversity, all protists have
the following characteristics in common:
– Most are unicellular; a few are multicellular
– Some have cell walls
– All are eukaryotic
Respiration and Nutrition
 Protists
are almost all aerobic
Didinium
3 Distinct Groups of Protists
(classified based on nutrition)
1.
Protozoa (zooplankton)
– animal-like
2.
Algae (phytoplankton)
– plant-like
3.
Moulds
– fungus-like
Protozoa
Animal-like
 Heterotrophic (scavengers/predators)
 Most are motile

– Use pseudopods/cilia/flagella
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Examples
– Amoeba; move using pseudopods
– Paramecium; move using cilia
– Plasmodium (causes malaria)
Algae
Plant-like
 Autotrophic; have chloroplasts
 Have cell walls
 Examples
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– Euglena; move using flagella
– Algae (red, brown, green)
– Diatoms, dinoflagellates
Moulds
Fungus-like
 Heterotrophic
 Reproduce like fungi but look like
animal-like protozoa
 Example:
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– Slime moulds
The Role of Protists
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Protists are an important part of the
food pyramid for many aquatic
communities
– Plankton: protists that live in the ocean
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Phytoplankton are autotrophic protists
Zooplankton are heterotrophic protists that eat
phytoplankton
Large animals eat zooplankton
The Role of Protists
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Some protists form symbiotic
relationships with other organisms
– Trichomonas hominis lives in the human
digestive tract
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Some protists are disease-causing
– Plasmodium (genus)  malaria
– Trypanosoma (genus)  African Sleeping
Sickness
– Giardia “beaver fever”; contaminate water
Who eats who
Orca
Seals
Fish, squid
zooplankton
phytoplankton
Reproduction
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All capable of asexual reproduction
– Some reproduce sexually as well
Habitat
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Cool, shady, aqueous or moist
environments (for locomotion)
– Oceans, ponds, lakes, damp soil, leaf piles
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VIDEO “Protists Biology”
Kingdom Worksheet
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VIDEO “Protists”