Functional Traits and Spatio-Temporal Structure of a Major Group of Soil Protists (Rhizaria: Cercozoa) in a Temperate Grassland.

ABSTRACT: Soil protists are increasingly appreciated as essential components of soil foodwebs; however, there is a dearth of information on the factors structuring their communities. Here we investigate the importance of different biotic and abiotic factors as key drivers of spatial and seasonal distribution of protistan communities. We conducted an intensive survey of a 10 m² grassland plot in Germany, focusing on a major group of protists, the Cercozoa. From 177 soil samples, collected from April to November, we obtained 694 Operational Taxonomy Units representing >6 million Illumina reads. All major cercozoan taxonomic and functional groups were present, dominated by the small flagellates of the Glissomonadida. We found evidence of environmental selection structuring the cercozoan comm

SUBMITTER: Fiore-Donno AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6579879 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature