what characteristics distinguish algae from other protists
Algae: Protists with Chloroplasts. The algae are a polyphyletic and paraphyletic group of organisms. They are defined in differing ways, but are usually considered to be the photosynthetic organisms excepting plants.lgae are distinguished on a number of different characteristics. The most important ones are: 1  the colour of the plastids (more correctly the combination of photosynthetic pigments that are present in the plastid). 2  the presence of flagella (and if so how many, how do they insert in the cell and how do they beat).