What are the environmental roles of protists?

State two ecological roles of protists and 2 ecological roles of fungi?

• Answer:

  Protists like algae are photosynthetic producers at the base of the food web while protists like flagellated protozoa are at a higher trophic level as primary or secondary heterotrophs consuming bacteria or smaller protists. Green algae - producer -Ulva lactuca Flagellate - consumer - Spironema or Euglenids Fungi are all heterotrophs. Some consume at lower trophic levels like the mycorrhizal Glomeromycota or mold forming Zygomycota while some consume as detritivores scavenging energy from dead organic matter like the dry rot Basidiomycetes Decomposing brown rot fungi - Serpula lacrymans. Consuming bread mold fungi- Rhizopus stolonifera