Protist
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
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Kingdom Protista includes Ciliates, Flagellates, Amoeba, Algae. It is a very diverse group of organisms. They use both flagellate and ciliate forms of movement, have three distinct groups that determine their diet and reproduction. They are unicellular and multicellular, and capable of everything from photosynthesis to disease.
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Anatomy
The kingdom protist is divided into three groups, the names of these groups always varies but it usually stays along the animal-like, plant-like, and fungus-like lines. In this case their three division names are protozoan, algae, and slime mold. This kingdom is completely diverse in their anatomy. The anatomy of some popular phyla is below.
Ciliophora are usually completely covered in tiny cilia, which are tiny hairs used for locomotion. These organisms contain a gullet, food vacuole, oral groove, and a contractile vacuoles. They are seen in either rows, spirals, or in tiny tufts.
Zoomastigophora are the flagellates of the kingdom protist. The only real constant in this group is the presence of a flagella, they are all very diverse. Some are colonial, others are single. Some are unicellular and some are multicellular. This group is also capable of becoming parasitic (see Trichonympha). [1]
Reproduction
The reproduction process for the kingdom protist is extremely complex and confusing, but just like their diet, they have three reproductive processes which are isogamy, anisogamy, and oogamy. Broken down into the simplest terms, they are as follows.
Isogamy: The fusing together of two reproductive cells which are both isogametes. This process occurs only in some types of algae and fungus.
Anisogamy: This process uses alternating reproductive cycles in the protist. The first cycle is sexual (using both a male and female organism to reproduce). The second cycle occurs every other generation of protist, and it is in the form of asexual reproduction (only one sex needed to reproduce, in this case the female is all that is needed in the reproductive cycle.
Oogamy: Reproduction using "gametes" which is The process of a small, unmoving female sex cell fusing with a mobile male sex cell.[2]
Diet
The kingdom protist has three basic methods for obtaining nutrition, which are actually classified as types of protists. Protists are mostly heterotrophic, which means relying on others for nutrition. The protozoa is an almost animal-like hunter. The protist finds a single-celled organism and engulfs them with a mouth-like aperture and ingests them, using either phagocytosis or pseudopodia.
The second type of protist is called Algal protists. They use photosynthesis to get their food from the sun using carotenoids, pigments, chlorophyll A, and C (on rare occasions chlorophyll B).
The third and final type of protist is called the fungus-like protist. These are very much like mushrooms and other fungi in that they get their nutrition by absorbing it into their bodies from their environment. Their body is a mass of cytoplasm often referred to as a "slime mold". These organisms are often a bright shade of yellow or orange.[3]
Gallery
 Slime mold |
 Dinoflagellate |
 Slime mold |
 Red Slime mold |
Related References
- Protista J. Stein Carter
- Kingdom Protista ESU
- Kingdom Protista Dr. Steven J. Wolf
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