Download The Kingdom Protista: Up Close IC

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Biologist’s Name: _________________________________ Class: 8__ Date: ______________
Mrs. Bouchard – 8th Grade Science
The Kingdom Protista: Up Close
1.
The Kingdom contains mostly _______________________ organisms, but some are
_______________________ (algae).
Protists can be ____________________________________________________________.
•
They live in ________________________________ environments.
•
Protists are all _________________________ (have a nucleus).
•
Phytoplankton are responsible for ______________________________________________
(Oxygen production) that occurs on Earth.
2.
Now you will become experts on one aspect of the Kingdom Protista. Your group is
responsible for section number ______________. Read the information carefully, then
right down the key points in the labeled box. At the end of the exercise, you will share your
findings with the rest of the class.
Section 1: Experts’ Findings
IC
Kingdom Protista In-class Activity!
Section 2: Experts’ Findings
Section 3: Experts’ Findings
Section 4: Experts’ Findings
Kingdom Protista In-class Activity!
Section 5: Experts’ Findings
Section 6: Experts’ Findings
Kingdom Protista In-class Activity!
Section 1: The Plant-like Protists
The plant-like protists contain chlorophyll and carry out
photosynthesis. These are commonly called algae. There are
four groups: Euglenophytes, chrysophytes, diatoms, and
dinoflagellates. Phytoplankton (unicellular algae) float at the
top of the surface of the ocean. Most multicellular algae are
seaweed or kelp. They are red, brown, or green seaweed.
Euglenophytes are unicellular and live in fresh water. They
are usually autotrophs, but can be heterotrophs if they need
to in order to survive. Flagella help to move them around in
the water. Chrysophytes are yellow-green algae. Diatoms are
unicellular and live in fresh or saltwater. Many diatoms are
phytoplankton. They have silica in their cell walls.
Dinoflagellates can be multicellular or unicellular and
autotrophs or heterotrophs. They cause the red tide which
can be poisonous.
Section 2: The Animal-like Protists
Animal like protists are single-celled consumers. Animal-like
protists are also known as Protozoa. Some are also parasites.
The Protozoa is often divided into 4 phyla : Amoebalike protists,
flagellates, ciliates, and spore-forming protists. Amoebalike
protists are a soft, jellylike protozoan. They are found in fresh
and salt water, in soil, and in animals. They are highly
structured. They have contractile vacuoles to get rid of excess
water. Flagellates use flagella to move. Some live in water and
some are disease-causing parasites (Giardia). Ciliates are the
most complex protozoa. They have hundreds of tiny hairs called
cilia. Spore-forming protists cannot move on their own and
absorb nutrients from their hosts.
Kingdom Protista In-class Activity!
Section 3: The Fungus-Like Protists
They are protists that absorb their food from dead organic
matter. They are grouped into 2 groups, slime molds and water
molds. Most fungus-like protists use pseudopods (“false feet”) to
move around. Water molds are usually unicellular. Some of the
water molds are decomposers, but others are parasites. Slime
molds live in cool, moist, shady places. They eat bacteria, yeast,
and small bits of decaying plant and animal matter. They
surround the particles they eat and then eat them. Slime molds
can sometimes grow in stalks.
Section 4: Where are protists found?
Most protists can be found in moist and wet areas. They can
also be found in tree trunks and other organisms. The protists
can also be found in habitats such as: roadside puddles, park
duck ponds, aquariums, birdbaths and in the gut of termites.
Protists live in wet environments and often anywhere there is
water. Some may live in damp soil as well, or leaf litter and
moist terrestrial habitats. Many stay at the bottom of bodies of
water and attach to rocks and other things that may creep
through the sand or silt. Protists also make up plankton, which
are groupings of organisms that easily drift along the water's
surface.
Some protists are involved in symbiotic relationships, living in
body fluids, tissues or cells of hosts. These relationships may be
mutualistic or parasitic, and anywhere in between.
Kingdom Protista In-class Activity!
Section 5: Protist Reproduction
In Kingdom Protista organisms show both the modes of
reproduction that is sexual as well as asexual. Asexual method
includes fission, plasmotomy, spore formation and budding. In
Binary Fission a parent bacteria undergo mitosis and give rise to
two individual cells. In multiple fission parent bacteria cell give rise
to multiple individual cells. Plasmotomy it occurs in multi nucleate
protista. In this bacteria divides without the division of nucleus.
Only cytoplasm divides. The off springs are also multi nucleate.
Spore formation occurs which is quite common. Spores are covered
by a layer which protects them from high alterations in
temperature. Budding is relative new method of reproduction. In
this a small growth occurs on parent body which develops into new
individual. Protists experience sexual and asexual reproduction,
with some protists having an alternation of generations.
Section 6: Protists as Pathogens
Some protists are significant pathogens of both animals and plants;
for example there are five species of the parasitic genus
Plasmodium, which cause malaria in humans; and the oomycete
Phytophthora infestans, which causes late blight in potatoes. A
more thorough understanding of protist biology may allow these
diseases to be treated more efficiently.
Recent papers have proposed the use of viruses to treat infections
caused by protozoa. Researchers from the Agricultural Research
Service are taking advantage of protists as pathogens in an effort
to control red imported fire ant populations in Argentina. With
the help of spore-producing protists such as Kneallhazia
solenopsae, the red fire ant populations can be reduced by 53100%.