Host-parasitoid associations in marine planktonic time series: Can metabarcoding help reveal them?

ABSTRACT: In this study, we created a dataset of a continuous three-year 18S metabarcoding survey to identify eukaryotic parasitoids, and potential connections to hosts at the Long-Term Ecological Research station Helgoland Roads. The importance of parasites and parasitoids for food web dynamics has previously been recognized mostly in terrestrial and freshwater systems, while marine planktonic parasitoids have been understudied in comparison to those. Therefore, the occurrence and role of parasites and parasitoids remains mostly unconsidered in the marine environment. We observed high abundances and diversity of parasitoid operational taxonomic units in our dataset all year round. While some parasitoid groups were present throughout the year and merely fluctuated in abundances, we also detected a s

SUBMITTER: Kase L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7790432 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature