Single-Celled Organisms Are Often Helpful
- Did you know that most of the oxygen you breathe is produced by single-celled organisms? Although plants generally get the credit for making the oxygen you breathe, most of it is actually produced by single-celled organisms that live in the oceans. In the IQWST LS1 unit, you learned about plankton, which form the foundation of the food webs for both freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. The name plankton is used for a collection of different kinds of organisms, including some multicellular organisms and a large number of single-celled organisms, including algae and bacteria. These algae and bacteria make their own food using energy from sunlight, just like plants, and give off oxygen. So not only are these single-celled organisms food for all the fish in the world, but they contribute a large part of the oxygen in the atmosphere. Without them, people might not have enough oxygen to survive.
- Single-celled creatures are involved in yet another important environmental process—recycling. Single-celled creatures in the soil can feed on almost everything. They feed on dead leaves and twigs, scraps of food, and anything organic (matter from living things) in garbage. When they do that, they break down the organic materials, releasing minerals that plants can use. Today, many people use this process to recycle organic waste and turn it into compost. Putting the compost into gardens returns nutrients to the soil and keeps the garbage used in the compost out of landfills. In the IQWST LS1 unit, you learned about interactions between organisms. You learned about one type of organism preying on another or about two kinds of organisms competing for the same resources, such as food or living space. With single-celled organisms, you see another kind of relationship. These organisms are called decomposers. Their role in helping dead plants and animals to decay and recycling their nutrients back into the soil is essential in ecosystems.
What Are the Differences between the Cells in You and Single-Celled Organisms?
- You saw that you have cells that are in, or on, your body. You looked at skin cells and cheek cells and a picture of heart cells. Are these cells like the single-celled organisms? This can be confusing when learning about cells. You use the same word for the cells in your heart as for a single-celled organism like the bacteria you saw. Both are called cells.