1. Give one example where molecular evidence unites organisms once thought to be dissimilar, and one example where such evidence indicates that organisms once thought to be alike due to their appearance are actually not closely related.

2. What strategies enable cellular slime molds and dinoflagellates to survive a temporarily harsh environment?

3. Who do stramenopiles and green algae differ from plants?

4. A strange event occurred on a South African beach. Half a million spiny rock lobsters, which are a delicacy, became stranded on the sand, and police had to set up roadblocks to prevent people from plucking free dinners from the sea. The lobsters had fled the ocean due to a “red tide” which tinged the water red. What type of protist might have caused the lobster stranding? Are they safe to eat?

5. How is it adaptive for a red alga to have pigments other than chlorophyll?

6. How might Volvox’s colonial lifestyle be adaptive?

Additional Questions

1. Protista are small, and some cause disease. This is true of bacteria too. How are protista different from bacteria?

2. Why is it incorrect to blame the Irish potato famine on fungus?