Protists
By Will Commer
What are protists?
What are protists? Well Protists are unicellular organisms which means that they are only made up of one cell. Protists are eukaryotic cells, meaning that they have a nucleus.
What are the different types of Protists?
Well, there are several different types of protists. However, there are only four that we need to know about. The four different types of protists that we need to know, are The Euglena, The Paramecium, The Amoeba, and The Volvox.
The Euglena:
The Euglena is a unicellular organism. Euglenas are classified into the Kingdom Protista, and they are classified into the Phylum Euglenophyta. Euglena eat by absorbing nutrients. Also, they have chloroplasts so they can carry out the process of photosynthesis to provide food for the protist. A Euglena moves by a singular flagella. Euglena reproduce asexually. There are several ways that a euglena can respond to the environment. One of those ways, is the fact that a Euglena has an eyespot to locate light so it can carry out the form of photosynthesis.
Flexible Movement in Euglena 2
The Amoeba:
The Amoeba is a Unicellular organism. Amoebas are too small to be seen without a microscope. They are commonly found in lakes and ponds. Amoebas are characterized by their flowing movements. Amoebas are able to change their shape. They can extend parts of themselves into what are called pseudopodia and then flow in the direction in which they wish to go. Amoeba eats by surrounding tiny food particles with pseudopods, which form a bubble-like food vacuole. Amoeba reproduce asexually by binary fission. The amoeba responds to the environment, because whenever the conditions are bad, an amoeba turns into a cyst.
Amoeba eats two paramecia (Amoeba's lunch)
The Paramecium:
The Paramecium is another unicellular protist. The Paramecium is I guess you could say, a little bit different. In the Paramecium, The Cilia sweeps the food along with some water into the cell mouth after it falls into the oral groove. Not only does the Cilia help sweep food into the Paramecium's mouth, it also is in charge of making the protist move through the water. Paramecium reproduce a little bit different than other protists. Paramecium reproduce through Binary Fission. The Paramecium can reproduce asexually two or three times a day. They normally reproduce asexually, however under stressful conditions, the Paramecium will produce sexually. Paramecia play a role in the carbon cycle, because the bacteria they eat are often found in decaying plants. Also, the Paramecium have a way to protect themselves. That is through Avoidance Behavior.
Paramecium Dividing
The Volvox:
The Volvox is different than all of the other protists. The Volvox is basically a 3D circle. Each volvox has two flagella. The flagella beat together to move the ball through the water. Volvox get their food like the Euglena, because they both have chlorophyll and chloroplasts. Therefore the Volvox makes its own food through photosynthesis. Also, The Volvox reproduces a little bit differently. A volvox has daughter colonies, which are small, dark green balls inside the volvox colony. When the daughter colonies mature, the parent ball bursts open and releases the daughter colonies.
Dancing Volvox: waltzing bound state