1. The most diverse group of organisms
Kingdom Protista
The most diverse group of organisms

2. Discovery of Protists Anton van Leeuwenhoek Lived around 300 years ago
First to use a microscope to see cells
“No more pleasant sight has met my eye than this of so many thousands of living creatures in one small drop of water.”

3. What can you find in a single drop of water??

4. Evolution of Protists Evolved from prokaryotes 1.5 billion years ago
Protists are the first known eukaryotic organisms
They would lead to the evolution of fungi, plants and animals

5. What is a protist?
A eukaryote that cannot be classified as fungi, plant or animal
An organism that has very diverse characteristics
A microscopic organism that lives in water
Can be grouped into two general categories:
Protozoa
Algae

6. How many cells?? (It depends!)
Most protists are unicellular, but some are multicellular
Some are colonial
each individual has a specific number of cells
all individuals together make up the colony
the colony acts like a multi-celled organism

7. Volvox Colonies

8. What is their function? (It depends!)
Some are…
Producers
many protists are photosynthetic and are major contributors to the Earth’s oxygen atmosphere
Consumers
some protists eat other organisms for energy
Decomposers
some breakdown dead organisms to return nutrients to the soil

9. The Protozoa Blues

10. Protists: The 411 All are Eukaryotes All are aerobic (require oxygen)
All have mitochondria
All live in water-based environments
(fresh water, oceans and seas, damp soil, snow)
Some have chloroplasts
Some reproduce asexually, some sexually

11. 3 Main Types Plant-like protists Animal-like protists
Fungus-like protists

12. Plant-like Protists (AKA algae)
Algae are protists that are strictly photosynthetic
Algae are distinguished by the type of photosynthetic pigment they contain
Algae are also classified based on their cell or body shape

13. Green Algae – Phylum Chlorophyta
Most are found in freshwater
Major part of plankton (small organisms found on the surface of a body of water)
Contain chloroplasts and undergo photosynthesis
Green Algae – Phylum Chlorophyta
Biscayne Bay – Miami, FL

14. Brown Algae – Phylum Phaeophyta
Multicellular
Found in marine and coastal regions
Examples: kelp, seaweed
Can be up to 30 m long
Provide protection and shelter for many coastal fish

15. Red Algae – Phylum Rhodophyta
Caloosahatchee River, SE Florida
(Gulf of Mexico side of Florida)
Red Algae – Phylum Rhodophyta
Multicellular
Found in tropical zones and deep ocean regions
Able to absorb light that penetrates deep waters

16. Diatoms – Phylum Bacillariophyta
Unicellular
Cell wall contains silica (mineral found in glass)
Double shell (fits together like the bottom and top of a shoe box)
Their shells are used to make reflective paints
Diatoms – Phylum Bacillariophyta

17. Dinoflagellates – Phylum Dinoflagellata
Have 2 flagella
Huge increases in population cause red tides = fish are killed due to less oxygen in the water, water looks red due to overpopulation
Most are found in saltwater

18. Euglenoids – Phylum Euglenophyta
One flagella
Eyespot – light sensitive organ that tells the organism to move toward light
Found mostly in freshwater

19. Animal-like Protists (AKA protozoa)
Classified based on their type of nutrition
Ingest their food by endocytosis (engulfing food into the cytoplasm)

20. Paramecium – Phylum Ciliophora
Move by beating tiny hair-like structures called cilia
The cilia act in unison like oars on a boat
Have one large contractile vacuole for water and waste storage

21. Amoebas – Phylum Rhizopoda
Move by pseudopodia
(false feet)
Amoebas can live in water, soil or living organisms
Amoebas – Phylum Rhizopoda

22. Sporozoans – Phylum Apicomplexa
All parasites
Transmitted through blood-eating insects or feces
Sporozoans – Phylum Apicomplexa

23. Malaria One of the most deadly diseases in humans
Caused by a protist called plasmodium
A mosquito bites an individual and the protist is injected into the blood stream
Over 100 million people have malaria
Up to 3 million people, mostly children, die from it every year

24. Symptoms include severe chills, fever, sweating, and confusion
Victims typically die of other related complications including anemia, kidney failure or brain damage
Malaria and fake drugs:
(first 10 minutes)

25. Fungus-like Protists (AKA molds)
Two groups
Plasmodial slime molds
Phylum Myxomycota
Look like oozing slime
Absorb bacteria and nutrients as they slowly move
Water molds
Phylum Oomycota
Usually feed on dead material
Responsible for the potato famine in Ireland ( ) that killed almost 1 million people