Biology, Module 3, Kingdom Protista

Videos, etc. for M3, Part A, subkingdom Protozoa
Videos, etc. for M3, Part B, subkingdom Algae
Quizlet Vocabulary Game, M3  
 
What is up with the names of these kingdoms?   
Kingdom Protista?  Sounds like a protest.  Which my daughter does when I say go do your Biology!  lol.  Well, not too much.  She doesn't love it, but says it's okay.  Which is great!  =D
So, what is a protist?

Kingdom Protista is divided into two subkingdoms: Protozoa and Algae.   
There!  That's a word we recognize!  We know what algae is.... or do we?  I think of the seaweed/kelp plant-like things that grow underwater, or the stuff that typically floats on the surface of the water, or clings to rocks. 
But algae comprise several different groups of organisms.  I learned there are many kinds of algae.  There is even one kind that is microscopic and causes stinging eyes and irritated skin if you are in or near water with this kind of algae!  Don't worry, you'd be able to recognize if it was there by the reddish look to the water.  Actually, you would probably detect it before you even got near the water, since it can also cause problems with breathing.

And subkingdom Protozoa?  These are small animal-like microorganisms that are able to move around. (unlike algae, which more or less just grow or float where they are, or where the water takes them.)


Best I can figure, kingdom Protista consists of organisms that are mostly found in water or some kind of moisture.  Some live in insects, animals, or humans. (eww!)  Some are harmful parasites; some are not.
Kingdom Protista are mostly single-celled, but single-celled or multicellular, their cells are eukaryotic, and have distinct, membrane-bounded organelles.  Each organelle has a different job.  This adds more complexity to the organisms of kingdom Protista than to the kingdoms that consist mainly of prokaryotic cells.

I should note that the members of kingdom Protista are neither plants nor animals; they are protists.  (sigh... I know, what does that mean?)  I know it's hard to understand something with which you're not familiar.  
They're just microorganism little thingies.
Not bacteria, and not fungi. (from which penicillin comes and prevents bacteria from spreading)  =D 
Just little animal-like or plant-like things.
So, now that you totally understand kind of, maybe, have a gist of what these things are, we can continue.

Subkingdom Protozoa is divided into 4 phyla (sing. is phylum); subkingdom Algae is divided into 5 phyla.  In case you have forgotten what that means, it is one of the categories in the Biological Classification system, divided as follows:

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, species

The four phyla for subkingdom Protozoa are divided according to how they are able to move about - their locomotion.  Some organisms move with pseudopods - false feet!  This is a temporary, foot-like extension of a cell, used for locomotion or engulfing food. 
An example is an amoeba.  Watch this amoeba eat.  It uses its pseudopod locomotion to move and to engulf its prey.  To begin with, everything moves slowly until the prey realizes it is caught!

Euglena

Paramecium

← Some members of subkingdom Protozoa move about with flagella, which are whip-like rotating structures that look like tails.  Some have more than one flagellum.

Some microorganisms from this subkingdom move with little hair-like extensions called cilia.   →

Kind of looks like this traffic island with a little grass growing around the edges, doesn't it?  Yeah, when I saw it, the word paramecium popped into my mind.  Yes, I've been told I've been reading too much biology.  =D

Some have no means of locomotion, and do not fit in the other three phyla, and therefore have its own phylum.

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Subkingdom Algae seemed as if would be much easier to comprehend since I was familiar with the word algae.  But as I stated before, I learned that it isn't just the typical seaweed, or floating slimy stuff we usually think of.  Some is made up of such tiny microorganisms, it is amazing!
Subkingdom Algae is divided into five phyla.  The division for Algae is based on three things:  
(1) habitat - they can live in marine (salt) water, or in fresh water.
(2) organization (single or multicellular) - Many algae exist as individual cells, but most form simple colonies, although a few colonies are quite complex.  Either way, their cells are all eukaryotic.
(3) type of cell wall - what it is made of.

Algae is a type of plankton.  There are two groups - zooplankton and phytoplankton.
Zooplankton are tiny floating organisms that are either small animals or protozoa.
Phytoplankton are tiny floating photosynthetic organisms, primarily algae.
Based on these definitions, what we studied in the first half of Module 3 was mostly zooplankton.
So algae must be the phytoplankton.

Phylum Chlorophyta, as indicated by its name, is characterized by greenish algae, of which there are many different species.
These algae live in mostly fresh water. 
 ←One in particular is in the genus Cosmarium or Desmid, and is characterized by the pinched look in the middle.

Another is from the genus Spyrogyra. →  

Despite not looking a thing alike, these algae are both from the same phylum since they generally fit in the same categories.
Doesn't look like what I always thought of as algae!  =D

The ones I think are the most interesting are from another phylum.
I especially like the species from the genus Diatom.  These are beautiful!
These are a unique type of algae, mostly because their cell walls are composed of silicon dioxide, which is the main component of glass. It remains hard long after the diatom dies.  When these remains are clumped together, they form a crumbly, abrasive substance called diatomaceous earth (die' uh tuh may' shus), or diatomite.

There are huge deposits of diatomaceous earth in most regions of the world.  Creation scientists think this may have happened at the time of the Flood.  (Genesis 6-9)  Scientists who do not believe the Bible have a hard time explaining these deposits of diatomaceous earth.

 These are algae, too!  Who knew???  (not me, lol)

Another type of algae live in marine waters and exist as single cells.
The algae in this phylum have two flagella and are often called dinoflagellates.  One of these, I mentioned at the beginning of this post - the one that causes the water to appear red.
When algae reproduce so rapidly that they essentially take over their habitat, the water appears to be the same color as the algae themselves.  This is called an algal bloom.  I'm sure you've seen water that appears green, perhaps in a pond or swimming pool. 
When the Gymnodinium brevis blooms, the water appears to be red.  This is called a red tide, and is deadly to most marine life.  The few that are immune are then inedible if they have been exposed to a red tide.  It would most likely be deadly if eaten.
 

Then there is that algae we are more familiar with.
← Brown algae.  The plant-like kind.  These live in cold marine waters.
Did you know some species are used as a thickener in some foods?


The last kind is red algae that live in warm marine waters.  (not to be confused with the dinoflagellates that cause red tides.)  Some species of this algae look like coral.
Some look like red splotches that grow on underwater surfaces.  →

These nine phyla for kingdom Protista are just general categories. 
These phyla are further divided into class, then order, then family, then genus, then the few species you see pictured here.  There can be thousands of species in each phylum. 
I get amazed every time I study biology.  What a mighty God we have!