Concept preview

What you will be able to do

1. 01Identify the main animal-like protists (protozoa) and how each moves and feeds.
2. 02Identify the main plant-like protists (algae) and their ecological roles.
3. 03Describe the fungus-like protists and their life cycles.
4. 04Use simple clues (colour, movement, nutrition) to place an unknown protist in a group.

In the last topic you learned that protists are sorted, informally, into three ways of making a living: animal-like protozoa that move and hunt, plant-like algae that photosynthesise, and fungus-like moulds that absorb dead matter. That is the map. This topic is the tour — a proper look at the actual creatures inside each group, because the protists reward close attention like almost nothing else in biology. A single drop of pond water, placed under a school microscope, can contain a dozen of the organisms described below, each a self-contained world of moving parts. Learning to recognise them, and to reason from a few visible clues to the right group, is one of the genuine pleasures of this course.