What organelles define eukaryotic cells?
Membrane-enclosed organelles such as mitochondria and the Golgi apparatus.
What is the function of the cytoskeleton?
Provides structural support and allows irregular forms, feeding, movement, and growth.
What are contractile vacuoles?
Organelles that pump excess water out of protist cells.
What is a mixotroph?
An organism that can use both photosynthesis and heterotrophic nutrition.
How do protists reproduce?
They reproduce either asexually or through meiosis and fertilization.
What are the three subgroups of SAR?
Stramenopila, Alveolata, and Rhizaria.
Why are stramenopiles important?
They include many of Earth’s most important photosynthetic organisms.
What characterizes stramenopiles?
They have a flagellum with hairlike projections.
What are diatoms made of?
Hydrated silica cell walls.
What are diatom blooms known for?
They can lower CO₂ levels.
What pigments do brown algae have?
Carotenoids that give them their brown color.
What are holdfasts?
Rootlike structures that anchor kelp or seaweed.
What are oomycetes?
Water molds, white rusts, and downy mildews, formerly misclassified as fungi.
How do oomycetes differ from fungi?
They have cellulose cell walls and nucleate filaments instead of chitin walls and hyphae.
What disease did oomycetes cause historically?
Potato late blight and the Irish famine.
What is alternation of generations?
A life cycle where multicellular haploid and diploid stages alternate.
What is a sporophyte?
The diploid stage that produces spores.
What is a gametophyte?
The haploid stage that produces gametes.
What is heteromorphic alternation?
Sporophytes and gametophytes look different.
What is isomorphic alternation?
Sporophytes and gametophytes look similar.
What defines alveolates?
Have membrane-bound sacs (alveoli) under the plasma membrane.
How do dinoflagellates move?
Using two flagella to spin through water.
What causes red tide?
Dinoflagellate blooms producing toxins.
What organism causes malaria?
Plasmodium, an apicomplexan.
