Unifying microorganisms and macrograzers in intertidal rocky shore ecological networks.

ABSTRACT: Over the past decades, our understanding of the vital role microbes play in ecosystem processes has greatly expanded. However, we still have limited knowledge about how microbial communities interact with larger organisms. Many existing representations of microbial interactions are based on co-occurrence patterns, which do not provide clear insights into trophic or non-trophic relationships. In this study, we untangled trophic and non-trophic interactions between macroscopic and microscopic organisms on a marine rocky shore. Five abundant mollusk grazers were selected, and their consumptive (grazing) and nonconsumptive (grazer pedal mucus) interactions with bacteria in biofilms were measured using 16S rRNA-gene amplicon sequencing. While no significant effects on a commonly used measure of

SUBMITTER: Arboleda-Baena C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12800886 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature