Unicellular Organisms Week of February 4th

Unicellular Organism An organism that consists of only one cell. Also known as a single-celled organism. Prokaryotes, most protists, and some fungi are unicellular.

Unicellular vs. Multicellular Unicellular consist of a single cell. Multicellular consist of many cells. Multicellular organisms are often more complex.

Vocab Heterotrophic: organism must consume food Autotrophic: organism can make its own food Flagellum: a long whip-like structure that acts like a little motor.

Vocab cont. Pseudopods: temporary “feet” used to move around. Cilia: tiny hair-like projections that move an organism. Protist: a single-celled or multicellular organism that lives in moist or wet surroundings.

Euglena Euglena move by a flagellum. Both heterotrophic and autotrophic. Have an eyespot at the anterior end that detects light. Usually lives in quiet ponds or puddles.

Amoeba Lives in fresh water, salt water, wet soil and in animals (including people). Surrounds food with pseudopods and forms a food vacuole. Move by changing shape. Eats algae, bacteria, plant cells. Some amoebas are parasites.

Paramecium An animal-like protists. Live in quiet or stagnant ponds. Feed on algal scum or other microorganisms. Move using cilia. Contains two types of nuclei and two types of cytoplasm.

Volvox Live in colonies; about 500 cells will group together. The colonies appear as green spheres in water. Move using a flagella. Likes the dark waters of ponds.