Protists
Cara Small
What is a Protist?
Protists are usually single-celled organisms, but some are multicellular. They are part of the Protista kingdom (are diverse eukaryotes).
Euglena-
What is a Euglena?
A euglena is a unicellular organism. This unicellular organism is plant-like because it has chloroplasts, and can, therefore, make its own food through photosynthesis.
How does it get its food?
- By using photosynthesis or...
- By absorbing food from the environment.
How does it move?
- Moves by using its flagellum (one).
How does it reproduce?
- Reproduces asexually
- By using binary fission
How does it respond to the environment?
- Responds to the environment by using its eyespot to find light that is needed for photosynthesis.
This Is a Video of Euglena Moving:
Euglena viridis - BF, DIC microscope 400x
Amoeba-
What is an Amoeba?
An amoeba is a unicellular organism. The amoeba is animal-like, since they do not have chloroplasts. Instead they surround food particles with pseudopods to get their food.
How does it get its food?
- By surrounding tiny particles of food with pseudopods (forms a bubble-like food vacuole).
How does it move?
- By changing the shape of their body, which forms pseudopods.
How does it reproduce?
- Reproduce asexually
- By using binary fission.
How does it respond to the environment?
- Responds to the environment by turning into a cyst
- It turns into a cyst when the conditions are bad
This Is a Video of an Amoeba Eating:
Amoeba eats two paramecia (Amoeba's lunch)
Paramecium-
What is a Paramecium?
A paramecium is a unicellular organism. This organism is animal-like, since it does not have chloroplasts to make their food. They use cilia to push food into their mouths.
How does it get its food?
- By using its cilia to push food and water into their mouth, also known as its oral groove.
How does it move?
- By using its cilia
How does it reproduce?
- Reproduce sexually or asexually
- Usually by conjugation
How does it respond to the environment?
- Responds with avoidance behavior (goes away from danger; avoids danger)
- Or with its tricocyst: it shoots out strings when in danger to keep it away or to look bigger (to intimidate the predator)
This Is a Video of Conjugation in Paramecium:
Conjugating Paramecium multimicronucleatum (parental discretion advised)
Volvox-
What is a volvox?
A volvox is a unicellular organism. This unicellular organism is plant-like, since it has the chloroplasts needed to make its own food through photosynthesis.
How does it get its food?
- By using photosynthesis
How does it move?
- It beats its 2 flagella together to roll through the water
How does it reproduce?
- The parent ball bursts open and releases the daughter colonies. When the daughter colonies grow up and become adults, the cycle starts over.
How does it respond to the environment?
- They live in colonies, unlike other unicellular organisms.
This Is a Video of a Volvox Moving:
volvox 2