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1. This means that in sunlight they are autotrophic, but when sunlight is unavailable, they can become heterotrophic, absorbing organic nutrients from their environment. Many other euglenids engulf prey by phagocytosis.
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3. They provide the consumers with molecular energy in the form of simple carbohydrates in which we (animals/consumers) metabolize into cellular energy (ATP).
4. Flagellates are cells with one or more whip-like organelles called flagella, while the ciliates are cells with hair-like projections called cilia. Flagella is one long piece usually at the end of a cell. Cilia is many, many pieces that cover the cell. They are both the same in that they are used for movement.
Ciliates are a large, varied group of protists named for their use of cilia to move and feed. The cilia may completely cover the cell surface or may be clustered in a few rows or tufts. In certain species, rows of tightly packed cilia function collectively in locomotion. Other ciliates scurry about on leg-like structures constructed from many cilia bonded together. A distinctive feature of ciliates is the presence of two types of nuclei: tiny micronuclei and large macronuclei. A cell has one or more nuclei of each type. Genetic variation results from conjugation, a sexual process in which two individuals
exchange haploid micronuclei. Ciliates generally reproduce asexually by binary fission, during which the existing macronucleus disintegrates and a
new one is formed from the cell's micronuclei. Each macronucleus typically contains multiple copies of the ciliate's genome. Genes in the macronucleus control the everyday functions of the cell, such as feeding, waste removal, and maintaining water balance.
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