Kingdom: PROTISTA
Kernersville Middle School
Karen Storey
October 1, 2014
If you look at a drop of pond water under a
microscope, all the "little creatures" you see
swimming around are protists.
KINGDOM PROTISTA
•Made up of a complex eukaryotic cell (unicellular)
or cells (multicellular)
•Eukaryotes have a true nucleus, and
prokaryotes (bacteria) do not
• Prefix
uni
One (single)
• Prefix
multi
More than one (many)
•This Kingdom has organisms that demonstrate
both animal and plant-like characteristics
•Some members make their own food (________)
autotrophs
heterotrophs
•Some ingest food from outside (____________)
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KINGDOM PROTISTA
•Organisms separated based on feeding behaviors
Autotrophs
Heterotrophs
algae
volvox
euglenas
amoebas
ciliates - paramecium
sporozoans
water molds
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•All Protozoa can reproduce asexually
•One “parent” for reproduction
•Called binary fission
•During binary fission, one
protozoan cell divides into two
identical individuals. (MITOSIS)
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KINGDOM PROTISTA
•Inhabit aquatic (______)
water areas and terrestrial
(_____)
land areas
•Protists are classified into 12 Phyla which can be
placed into 3 main groups
plant-like
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Animal-like protists
•All heterotrophs
•classified by the 4 ways they move:
1) Cilia - tiny beating hair-like structures
•Coordinated
movement between
individual cilia
2) Flagellum(a) - whip-like tail(s)
•Back and forth
wave motion
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Animal-like protists
•classified by the 4 ways they move:
3) Pseudopodia - projection of cytoplasm that
sticks out like a foot (“false
foot”)
4) Sessile - No locomotion (_________)
movement
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Animal-like protists - Examples
1. Amoeba
 just visible to the naked eye
comes from the Greek word
amoibe which means “change”
 unicellular
moves by pseudopodia which give appearance
of cell changing size and shape
 aquatic - lives in ponds, ditches or slowly
moving streams
 can cause disease – amoebic dysentery
 ingests small organisms like bacteria and
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other protozoans

Animal-like protists - Examples
1. Amoeba
 feeding sequence
psuedopodia surround
and engulf food particle

process called
phagocytosis

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Animal-like protists - Examples
2. Paramecium
•Unicellular, slipper-shaped
•move by coordinated
beating of many cilia
•aquatic - mostly found in ponds and streams
•usually do not cause diseases in humans
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Animal-like protists - Examples
2. Paramecium - continued
•Feeding occurs in the
funnel-shaped gullet (oral
groove/buccal funnel)
where food is drawn in by
external and internal cilia
to form food vacuole
•ingests organic detritus
and other small organisms
like bacteria and other
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protozoans
Animal-like protists - Examples
2. Paramecium - continued
•Food to waste pathway
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Animal-like protists - Examples
2. Paramecium - continued
•Reproduction
1. Binary fission (________)
asexual
N = nucleus
F = Fission plane
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Animal-like protists - Examples
2. Paramecium - continued
•Reproduction
2. Conjugation (________)
sexual
•Form structure called
conjugation tube to
exchange genetic material
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Animal-like protists: The Sporozoan
Characteristics of Sporozoans (Animal-like)
•Sporozoa do not move on their own
•mostly common in tropical areas
•protist that reproduce by forming spores
•they are usually parasitic
•sporozoans named Plasmodium causes malaria
•its caused by female mosquitos
•humans get malaria when
bitten by an infected mosquito
•The mosquito is the vector!
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PLANT-LIKE PROTIST
•Have chlorophyll
•Make their own food
•They can live in 4 main environments:
•soil
•freshwater
•tree bark
•salt water
•they produce large amounts of oxygen which are
used by other living organisms
•they are grouped according to color & stucture
•into 5 main groups:
2) diatoms
3) dinoflagelletes
1) euglena
4) red dinoflagellates
5) algae
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PLANT-LIKE PROTIST Cont’d
•they are grouped according to color & stucture
A) Euglena
D) Red Dinoflagellates
B) Diatom
E) Green Algae-
C) Dinoflagellates
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PLANT-LIKE PROTIST Cont’d
A) Euglena•one celled alga that
moves with one flagellum
•lives in fresh water
•reproduces asexually
•red eyespot near front end to find light…Why?
•have chlorophyll and can make their own
food ( autotroph)
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PLANT-LIKE PROTIST Cont’d
A) Euglena Continued-
contains
disk-shaped
chloroplasts
•organelle is the site of photosynthesis
and gets its name from the presence of
the green pigments (the chlorophylls) 24
PLANT-LIKE PROTIST Cont’d
B) Diatom
•beautiful one celled protists
•come in many shapes
•EX: boats, rods, disks, triangles
•important food source for water dwelling animals
•cell covering is made up of 2 overlapping parts
•Think of a box with a lid
•made of the same material as glass
•cell coverings do not decay (when dead)
•used for toothpaste, scouring powders, & filters
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PLANT-LIKE PROTIST Cont’d
•produce large numbers which turns the ocean red
•responsible for “red tides”
•produce chemicals that kill thousands of fish
•humans can become ill if they eat shell fish
that have absorbed these chemicals
•common off the coast of Florida or other
warmer areas
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 Red Tide 
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 Red Tide Kills Fish

Absorbed red
dinoflagellates
After encountering and absorbing a red tide..a
stingray becomes disoriented. They have the
appearance of not being able to see or control
what they are doing. Eventually the ray will
stay at the surface lying horizontally and die.28
PLANT-LIKE PROTIST Cont’d
E) Green Algae
•Come in many different forms
•can be unicellular or multicellular
•they produce O2 in H2O
spirogyra
•serve as food for fish, snails, and crayfish
•usually found in “colonies”
•Colony – a group of cells that live together
chlorella
desmids
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A Volvox is a hollow boll composed of hundreds
of flagellated cells in a single layer.
PLANT-LIKE PROTIST Cont’d
Algae Examples
•EX: volvox colony
•Arranged in a single layer
with 2 flagella facing outward
•The 2 small flagella beat and
the colony spins through the water.
•EX: Kelp (brown algae)
…aka….“sea weed”
•used by humans for food
•also used to thicken food
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such as ice cream and jelly
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FUNGUS-LIKE PROTIST
Slime Molds:
•fungus-like protists that are consumers
•live in cool, damp places EX: forest floor
•feed on bacteria growing on rotting logs and
decaying leaves
•some are parasites (very few)
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North Carolina 7.L.1.1 Essential Standard
• Within cells, basic functions of organisms, such as
extracting energy from food, getting rid of waste,
movement and secreting waste are continually
being done.
• The way in which cells function is similar in all
living organisms.
• Even the simplest (unicellular) organisms have
parts which enable them to move, eat, reproduce
and respond to their environment.
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7.L.1.1 Essential Standard Continued
• Euglena move by a flagellum, are known for
their unique feature ( an eye spot), and some
contain chlorophyll. They are commonly
found in fresh water, such as ponds, rivers,
lakes, and streams.
• The amoeba moves by cytoplasmic
streaming, and eats by surrounding and
engulfing its food using its pseudopods.
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7.L.1.1 Essential Standard Continued
• Paramecium are the most complex of all the
protist. They move by cilia, have an oral
groove, and reproduce by binary fission and
conjugation.
• Volvox can exist as a single cell or as a colony,
each cell being specialized for a specific
function. Many volvox contain chlorophyll.
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COPY AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING
QUESTIONS IN YOUR SCIENCE JOURNAL
1) List the three main (groups) types of protists?
2) Give two examples of animal-like protists.
3) What are sporozoans? Give one example.
4) List the 3 structures protozoan use for
locomotion.
5) List 5 plant-like protists?
6) Why are algae important?
7) Explain why red tides occur and what causes
them.
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