Biology Lab Exercise 4

Apicoplexa

(Apicoplexans) Eukarya: Domain Chromalveolata: Kingdom SAR: unranked supergroup Alveolata: Superphylum Apicoplexa: Phylum All known apicoplexans are parasites of animals (vertebrates and invertebrates). Their shared, unique feature is the apical complex. The complex contains several cellular structures plus the organelle, apicoplast. The complex enable the Ampicoplexans to infect their hosts. This group is also known for creating cysts (right-side figure below). Cysts allow the parasites to survive outside of the host. Once the cyst gets inside the host, multiple parasite break out to infect the host. The most famous genus is Plasmodium. Several different species are known to cause the disease malaria. P. falciparum is the deadliest one; found in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2014, 198 million people contracted malaria and 584,000 died. Plasmodium is found in all tropical regions of the world including Mexico and the Caribbean.

Phaeophyta

(Brown algae) Eukarya: Domain Chromalveolata: Kingdom SAR clade: unranked supergroup Stramenopila: superphylum Heterokontophyta: Phylum Phaeophyceae: Class The dominant pigment that gives brown algae its distinctive color are xanthophylls, specifically fucoxanthin. There are no known unicellular brown algae, most are filamentous multicellular. Most of the 1800 species of brown algae can be found in the marine environment.

Ciliaphora

(Ciliates) Eukarya: Domain Chromalveolata: Kingdom SAR: unranked supergroup Alveolata: Superphylum Ciliaphora: Phylum Mainly found in freshwater environments and chemoheterotrophic, Ciliates are known for multiple hair-like appendages known as cilia. Cilia aid in movement and also guiding food into their oral groove and gullet. Like other freshwater protists, Ciliates have a contractile vacuole to help pump water out of the cell. Ciliates also have two nuclei; macronucleus and micronucleus. The micronucleus is vital for the Ciliates to reproduce sexually. Paramecium is the most recognized genus in this phylum.

Bacillariophyceae

(Diatoms) Eukarya: Domain Chromalveolata: Kingdom SAR: unranked supergroup Stramenopila: superphylum Heterokontophyta: Phylum Bacillariophyceae: Class Their distinguishing characteristic is a unique double shell made of opaline silica. They use the pigments chlorophyll, xanthophyll and carotenoids to photosynthesize. Diatoms can be found in either marine or freshwater habitats. There are a few species that lack chlorophyll and are chemoheterotrophs. Diatomaceous earth (soil filled with fossilized diatoms) is used to locate oil reserves.

Dinoflagellata

(Dinoflagellates) Eukarya: Domain Chromalveolata: Kingdom SAR: unranked supergroup Alveolata: Superphylum Dinoflagellata: Phylum All species in this group have the unique, shared trait of two flagella. Their shells are silica encrusted cellulose plates. They use the pigments chlorophyll, xanthophyll and carotenoids to photosynthesize , like diatoms and brown algae. They are found in both marine and freshwater environments. Some dinoflagellates are not photoautotrophs and are parasites on other protists or fish. Coastal, marine dinoflagellates can have a serious impact on the health of oceans and people. This group is responsible for over-reproducing to create algal blooms. These blooms are red in color and are called "red tides." During this time, the dinoflagellates release a neurotoxin that can kill fish and shellfish. Humans are also affected, particularly if they eat diseased fish or shellfish.

Euglenida

(Euglenids) Eukarya: Domain Excavata: Kingdom Euglenozoa: Phylum Euglenida: Class Some Euglenids are fully photoautotrophic and some as fully chemoheterotrophic. Other euglenids are photoheterotrophic when sunlight is available and switch to chemoheterotroph when it is not. This is known as a mixotroph strategy. The chloroplasts present for photosynthesis came from green algae, so chlorophyll and carotenoids are the main pigments used. Commonly found in freshwater, though a few species live in a marine habitat. The shared, unique structure of Euglenids is known as the pellicle. These are strips of microtubules under the cell membrane that aid movement. They also have one to two flagella.

Chlorophyta & Charophyta

(Green Algae) Eukarya: Domain Archeaeplastida: Unranked supergroup Charophyta: Phylum Green algae refers to two different groups that are closely related. They are the sister taxa to land plants. These groups use chlorophyll and carotenoids to capure light energy. Like red algae they can be unicellular, multicellular, colonial or coenocytic. Charophytes are mainly found in freshwater environments and chlorophytes are found in marine environments. Some of the charophytes are also terrestial.

Kinetoplastida

(Kinetoplastids) Eukarya: Domain Excavata: Kingdom Euglenozoa: Phylum Kinetoplastida: Class All Kinetoplastids are chemoheterotrophs. Specifically, most are parasites of vertebrates, insects and plants. Some free-living kinetoplastids can be found in marine and freshwater environments. Their shared, unique structure is an organelle called the kinetoplast. This organelle replicates separate from the cell and contains its own DNA. The function of the organelle is an area of ongoing debate in the scientific community. Several of the kinetoplastid species cause serious blood and tissue diseases in humans. In the Rio Grande Valley, Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease is an emerging issue. Those with the acute form of the diesease experience fever and swelling of tissues at the site of infection. The chronic form can lead to death, typically by damaging heart tissue.

Rhodophyta

(Red Algae) Eukarya: Domain Archeaeplastida: Unranked supergroup, no kingdom Rhodophyta: Phylum The pigments that give them their distinct color unites the group as one. Instead of chlorophyll, they have pigments called phycobilins that capture the energy of the sun for food. The specific pigments are phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin. They can range in size from unicellular to 2 m long. The majority of the species are marine-based. These algae are an important source of food for humans, and are also used in agar (microbial plates) and make-up

Species Richness

A simple count of the number of species

Symbiotes

Algae can also form mutualistic symbiotic relationships with other organisms. Lichens are an example of a fungus and a terrestial green alga living as one organism. Coral reefs are also the result of a mutualistic relationship between an animal and dinoflagellates.

Primary Producers

Algae play a vital role in food cycles of the planet. The phytoplankton are the world's primary producers (see figure below). They capture the light energy of the sun and convert it to sugar using photosynthesis for the consumers to use. Without algae, land plant would not be able to make enough food for all organisms on the planet to survive.

The SAR clade is an unranked supergroup that includes all of the following except

Amoebozoans

Euglenozoans include all of the following except

Apicoplexans

Algae fall into two main groups

Archaeplastida and Chromoalveolata (Stramenopile and Alveolate)

This type of biodiversity examines the community of living organisms and how they interact with the abiotic environment.

Ecological biodiversity

Foraminifera

Eukarya: Domain Rhizaria: Kingdom SAR: unranked supergroup Foraminifera: Phylum Almost all are marine dwelling, with few found in freashwater and terrestrial habitats. They posses a shell made of calcium carbonate. They move using pseudopodia and were once thought to be related to ameobas, but are not. The phylum is chemoheterotrophic, but some species have algae symbionts. The algae component can photosynthesis making the foraminifera photoautotrophic.

AMOEBOZOA

Eukarya: Domain Unikonta: Unranked supergroup, no kingdom Amoebozoa: Phylum Tubulinea: Class All amoebas are chemoautotrophs. They can be either free-living or parasitic in marine or freshwater environments. Freshwater amoebas need a contractile vacuole to pump water out of the body or else they could burst. Some amoebas can have shells. A distinguishing characteristic of the group is how they move. They extend the contents of their cell into extensions known as pseudopods. The cytoplasm streams into the pseudopod moving the ameoba in that direction. Some ameobas can cause disease in humans. The brain-eating ameoba, Naegleria fowleri, leaves in freshwater and can enter human brains when swimmers inhale water.

protozoans

If a protists is chemoheterotrophs

A symbiotic relationship where all organisms in the relationship benefit is known as a

Mutualism

algae

Ones that carry out photosynthesis

Ciliates are grouped in

SAR Clade

ALVEOLATA

The kingdom Chromalveolata contains both photoautotrophs and chemoheterotrophs. The phylum Heterokontophyta contains two algae, the brown algae and the diatoms, plus the chemoheterotroph class of Oomycota. The superphylum Alveolata also contains one algae phylum, the dinoflagellates, and two important chemoheterotroph phyla Ciliaphora and Apicoplexa.

Species Eveness

The number of individuals of each species

Diversity Indices

Use both richness and eveness to determine biodiversity.

EXCAVATA

another kingdom of protists that includes several phyla. The divisions, however, remain unresolved taxonomically. This group does contain several important pathogens plus the group, the Euglenids which are capable of photosynthesis.

RHIZARIA

another kingdom of protists that includes three phyla; Foraminifera, Radiolara and Cercozoa. All species in this kingdom are ameboid in shape and are chemoheterotrophic.

pi

equals the proportion of individuals belonging to that species

This type of biodiversity investigates the differences in DNA within a single species.

genetic biodiversity

Which algae group is the closest sister taxa to land plants?

green algae

Ecological Biodiversity

is the diversity of ecosystems, natural communities and habitats; it is the variety of ways that species interact with each other and their environment

Species Diversity

is the variation found in all organisms; the different species on Earth

Genetic Biodiversity

is the variation in genes that exists within a species; the different alleles or combination of genes

Algae is predominantly found in

marine and freshwater environments

ln

natural logarithm, logarithms are used when the spread of the data is extreme

Protists are not a kingdom because they lack a shared, unique characteristic. To include them in one kingdom makes that kingdom

paraphyletic

algae

paraphyletic grouping

Another important role for protozoans is causing disease. The relationship between the host organism and the organism causing the disease is known as

parasitism

Algae is a term that includes all protists that have this type of metabolism

photoautotroph

Many algae are also known as

phytoplankton

Algae also serve as major ___ for the planet.

primary producers

mixotrophs

protists that carry out chemoheterotrophs and photoautotrophs

This measure counts all the individuals found per species in a given area.

species eveness

This measure counts all the species in a given area.

species richness

phytoplankton

unicellular algae

Shannon Diversity Index

uses the number of species and the proportion of the total number of individuals to calculate the diversity. A diversity index close to 1 indicates a highly diverse environment; while 0 indicates only 1 species is present in the environment.