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PROTOCTISTS
"Protoctists are an amazingly diverse group of single celled,
microscopic organisms. The gorgeous models that you see
were made by artisans at the American Museum of Natural History working largely
in the 1930s. They are of course blown up many times the natural size of these
creatures. Some protoctists are like animals--engulfing others for their food.
Others can photosynthesize, like plants, and still others are rather like fungi."
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| DR. NILES ELDREDGE, CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF INVERTEBRATES |
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KNOWN SPECIES
70,000 to 80,000; Possibly 600,000
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SIZE RANGE
Less than 1 micrometer to 60 meters
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WHERE THEY LIVE
In soils, fresh waters and oceans; As parasites inside other organisms
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ECOLOGICAL ROLES AND HUMAN USES
Photosynthesizers; At the base of the
food chain, especially in bodies of water; Decomposers;
Disease causers; Parasites • Help regulate silica and
excess nutrients in the oceans • Replenish the Earth's
oxygen • Coralline (red) algae build reef structures •
Used by humans in industry, as food, in aquaculture and
agriculture, and as medicines • Store carbon • Break down
organic wastes, especially in some animals and insects
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