Towards a trait-based framework for protist ecology and evolution

Mahwash Jamy, Pierre Ramond, David Bass, Javier Del Campo, Micah Dunthorn, Enrique Lara, Aditee Mitra, Daniel Vaulot, Luciana Santoferrara

Abstract

Knowledge of the functional diversity of protists is crucial for understanding their responses to, and influences on, the environment. Functional characterizations of protist species are scattered in the literature, making it challenging to synthesize them into ecological and evolutionary insights. Recently developed environment- and taxon-specific trait databases are a strong foundation for studies of protist functional diversity, but efforts remain fragmented and their broader utility is limited by a lack of standardization. We argue that a unified trait database for protists is timely, achievable, and would catalyze transformative research on their biodiversity, ecology and evolution.