Alveolate

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/alveolate

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Alveolata (a major eukaryotic supergroup)
2. What is the habitat?Ubiquitous across marine, freshwater, soil, and endosymbiotic/parasitic environments
3. What are alveolates and why are they called tiny wonders of the water?Alveolates are microscopic organisms that live in water. They have little sacs called cortical alveoli under their skin, and some can even glow in the dark.
4. How do alveolates help the planet?Photosynthetic dinoflagellates make oxygen and capture carbon, helping the Earth's air and food chains. They are big producers in the ocean.

Cortical Alveoli: Small, flattened vesicles located beneath the plasma membrane, characteristic of alveolates.
Phylogenomics: The study of evolutionary relationships using genomic data.
Obligate Parasite: An organism that can only survive by living in or on another organism (the host).