A lichen is a combination of fungus and algae that lives on the sides of trees, rocks, and other materials. The fungus provides the algae with water and minerals and the algae uses the water and minerals to make food for both organisms. What ecological relationship does the lichen represent and why?

The lichens are mutually beneficial relationships between algae (and/or cyanobacteria) and fungus. In these symbiotic relationships, the fungus is dominant and it gives to the lichen its most important morphological features.

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successokoh2008 successokoh2008 · Answer 2 · 2021-04-20T16:05:59+02:00

Answer: Mutualism

SHORT EXPLANATION: A mutualism relationship, because the fungus and algae both benefit from the relationship.

Long Explanation: Organisms in an ecosystem interact with one another from time to time. The close interaction between two organisms is referred to as SYMBIOSIS. Symbiosis is of different types depending on how it affects the involved organisms. The example in this question depicts MUTUALISM.

Mutualism is the type of symbiotic relationship between two organisms in which both organisms benefit from the relationship. This is the case of the LICHEN, which involves the Algae and Fungi. The algae benefit by making use of the water and minerals supplied by the fungi while the fungi benefit by using the food the algae produces via photosynthesis.