Metabarcoding Targets Functional Group Diversity of Micro- and
Mesozooplankton in Pelagic Food Webs
- Andreas Novotny
, - Sara Zamora-Terol
, - Monika Winder
Andreas Novotny

Stockholm University
Corresponding Author:mail@andreasnovotny.se
Author ProfileAbstract
The ability for marine ecosystems to maintain productivity and
functionality under long term changes in resource availability relies on
the diversity of functional groups. Nevertheless, the complexity of
zooplankton interactions is rarely considered in trophic studies because
of the lack of detailed information about feeding interactions in
nature. In this study, we used DNA metabarcoding to detect trophic
interactions of a wide range of micro- and mesozooplankton including
ciliates, rotifers, cladocerans, copepods and their prey, by sequencing
16- and 18S rRNA genes. Our study demonstrates that functional group
diversity goes beyond both phylogeny and size and reinforces the
importance of diversity in resource use for stabilizing food web
efficiency by allowing for alternative pathways of energy transfer. We
further demonstrate the importance of ciliates and rotifers in recycling
organic matter from degraded filamentous cyanobacteria within the
pelagic zone, contributing to ecosystem production. The approach used in
this study is a suitable entry point to ecosystem-wide food web modeling
considering species-specific resource use of key consumers.