1. List some examples of protist diversity.
Archaeplastadia: These are photosynthetic eg, green and red algae, diatoms, dinoflagelattes and euglonoids
Excavata: Others are heterotrophic meaning that they feed using filamentous structures eg Trichomonas
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Stramenophiles: They are motile with 2 flagella. They are also diverse heteretrophs eg flagellated protozoa, brown algae
Amebozoa. They move through psedopodia. Eg amoeba, slime molds and water molds
Rhizaria. They produce shells though they are also amoeba. Eg, radiolarians
Forms exist in internal parasites of animals eg apicomplexans
Opithokonta. They have one flagellum and are motile cells. Eg, fungi and some animal-like,such as kelp (Reggie et al., 2015)
2. How do different protist groups obtain energy?
Most protest obtain energy from photosynthesis through the sun.eg, red algae absorb wavelengths of light using their photosynthetic pigments to take advantage of blue or red wave lengths. Others decompose decaying matter and break it into energy. Examples are slime molds which engulf bacteria and other substances on rotting logs and old leaves. Some protists act as parasites that feed off other plants and animals. For example, water molds which absorb nutrients after releasing their enzymes into the environment. Others that feed off animal hosts are plasmodium and crypto.
Animal like protists eat or imbibe food substances.
3. How do they move?
Flagella : These are tails at the end of some protists bodies that look like whips
Cilia : These are tiny structures that look like hair. They allow the protist to propel itself towards any direction. Most protists with Cilia are called ciliates and they live in water.
Axopodia : These are appendages that look like face feet. They allow protists to move along surfaces.
4. Describe some differences in protist appearance.
Some protist have flattened bodies that are thin and with flagella
Others are round with membranes and filaments
Some are unicellular while others are multicellular
Some have shells that look yellow or gray. They are made of calcium carbonate while others have shells made of silica. (Patterson, 2015)
Some have Cilia or flagella that give their bodies a hair like appearance
References
Patterson, D. J. (2015). Helping protists to find their place in a big data world. Acta Protozoologica , 53 (1), 115-128.
Ruggiero, M. A., Gordon, D. P., Orrell, T. M., Bailly, N., Bourgoin, T., Brusca, R. C., & Kirk, P. M. (2015). A higher level classification of all living organisms. PloS one , 10 (4), e0119248.
