Protistology is a scientific discipline devoted to the study of protists, a highly diverse group of

eukaryotic Eukaryotes () are organisms whose cells have a nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the three domains of life. Bact ...

organisms. All eukaryotes apart from animals, plants and fungi are considered protists. Its field of study therefore overlaps with the more traditional disciplines of

phycology Phycology () is the scientific study of algae. Also known as algology, phycology is a branch of life science. Algae are important as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. Most algae are eukaryotic, photosynthetic organisms that live in ...

mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, a ...

, and protozoology, just as protists embrace mostly unicellular organisms described as

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) are any of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms. The name is an informal term for a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from ...

, some organisms regarded previously as primitive

fungi A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...

, and

protozoa Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histor ...

("animal" motile protists lacking chloroplasts). They are a

paraphyletic group In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

with very diverse morphologies and lifestyles. Their sizes range from unicellular

picoeukaryotes Picoeukaryotes are picoplanktonic eukaryotic organisms 3.0 µm or less in size. They are distributed throughout the world's marine and freshwater ecosystems and constitute a significant contribution to autotrophic communities. Though the ...

only a few micrometres in diameter to multicellular marine algae several metres long.

History

The term " protozoology" has become dated as understanding of the evolutionary relationships of the eukaryotes has improved, and is frequently replaced by the term "protistology". For example, the Society of Protozoologists, founded in 1947, was renamed International Society of Protistologists in 2005. However, the older term is retained in some cases (e.g., the Polish journal ''Acta Protozoologica'').

Journals and societies

Dedicated academic journals include: * ''

Archiv für Protistenkunde ''Protist'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal focusing on protists. It was founded as ''Archiv für Protistenkunde'' by editor Fritz Shaudinn in 1902, and originally published by Gustav Fischer and later Jena. The journal is now published by ...

'', 1902-1998, Germany (renamed '' Protist'', 1998-); * '' Archives de la Societe Russe de Protistologie'', 1922-1928, Russia; * ''

Journal of Protozoology A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'', 1954-1993, USA (renamed '' Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology'', 1993-); * '' Acta Protozoologica'', 1963-, Poland; * '' Protistologica'', 1968-1987, France (renamed '' European Journal of Protistology'', 1987-); * '' Japanese Journal of Protozoology'', 1968-2017, Japan (renamed ''

Journal of Protistology A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'', 2018-); * ''Protistology'', 1999-, Russia. Other less specialized journals, important to protistology before the appearance of the more specialized: * '' Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences'', 1666-, France; * '' Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science'', 1853-1966, UK (renamed '' Journal of Cell Science'', 1966-); * '' Archiv für mikroskopische Anatomie'', 1865-1923, Germany; * ''

Transactions of the Microscopical Society The ''Journal of Microscopy'' is the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Royal Microscopical Society which covers all aspects of microscopy including spatially resolved spectroscopy, compositional mapping, and image analysis. This incl ...

'', 1841-1869, UK (renamed ''

Journal of Microscopy The ''Journal of Microscopy'' is the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Royal Microscopical Society which covers all aspects of microscopy including spatially resolved spectroscopy, compositional mapping, and image analysis. This ...

'', 1869-); * '' Transactions of the American Microscopical Society'', 1880-1994, USA (renamed ''

Invertebrate Biology The American Microscopical Society (AMS) is a society of biologists dedicated to promoting the use of microscopy. A cohort of biologists and science educators, the AMS's members use a wide array of microscopical techniques (light microscopy, elec ...

'', 1995-); * '' Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz'', 1909-, Brazil. Some societies: *

Society of Protozoloogists A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...

, 1947-2005, USA (renamed

International Society of Protistologists International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, 2005-), with many affiliates; *

International Society for Evolutionary Protistology International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, 1975, USA. * Protistology UK (previously British Society for Protist Biology) * International Society of Protistologists (previously the Society of Protozoologists)

Notable protistologists (sorted by alphabetical order of surnames)

The field of protistology was idealized by Haeckel, but its widespread recognition is more recent. In fact, many of the researchers cited below considered themselves as protozoologists, phycologists, mycologists, microbiologists, microscopists, parasitologists, limnologists, biologists, naturalists, zoologists, botanists, etc., but made significant contributions to the field.

References

External links

*
Portal to protistology
by th
International Society of Protistologists
{{Branches of biology . . Branches of biology