Protist Diversity

BIOL 1407

Protists

• Eukaryotes that are not plants, animals or fungi

• Area of intense research

• Taxonomy in flux

Protists ≠ Clade

• Informal Groups:– Algae– Protozoans– Fungal-like protists

• Photo Credit of Kelp: Stef Maruch, 2007, Wikimedia Commons

Body Organization

• Unicellular• Colonial• Multicellular

Dinobryon, a colonial golden brown alga

Bonnemaisonia hamifera (a red alga)

Membrane Transport

• Gas exchange

• Waste disposal

• Water balance

• Ion balance

Ciliates (Stentor and Paramaceium)

Water Balance

• Watch videos of Contractile Vacuoles

• http://www.linkpublishing.com/video-transport.htm#Paramecium_-_Contractile_Vacuoles

• http://www5.pbrc.hawaii.edu/allen/ch09/video/vid-1/

Nutrition

• Autotrophs• Heterotrophs

– Ingestive– Absorptive

• Mixotrophs

Algae

• Autotrophic protists• Some mixotrophs• Important in food

chains in aquatic habitats

• Includes– Phytoplankton– Seaweeds

Euglena

Diatoms

Dinoflagellates

Green Algae: Volvox

Seaweed: Red Algae

Seaweed: Brown Algae

Protozoans

• Ingestive heterotrophs

• Mostly unicellular

• Planktonic or sessile

• Free-living or parasites

Ciliates

Foraminiferans

Radiolarians

Giardia

Plasmodium

Trypanosoma

Fungal-like Protists

• Resemble fungi during life cycle

• Make spores• More closely

related to amoeboids than fungi

• Photo Credit: Dr. Tom Volk, http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/oct2003.html

Plasmodial Slime Molds

Cellular Slime Molds

The End

Unless otherwise specified, all images in this presentation came from:

Campbell, et al. 2008. Biology, 8th ed. Pearson Benjamin Cummings.