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

PLoS One. 2021 Jan 7;16(1):e0244817. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244817. eCollection 2021.

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 succession of parasitoid groups with peaks of individual species only during certain seasons. Using co-occurrence and patterns of seasonal occurrence, we were able to identify known host-parasitoid dynamics, however identification of new potential host-parasitoid interactions was not possible due to their high dynamics and variability in the dataset.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic / methods
  • Eukaryota
  • Food Chain
  • Host-Parasite Interactions / genetics*
  • Oceans and Seas
  • Plankton / genetics*
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / genetics*
  • Seasons

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 18S

Grants and funding

This work was supported by institutional funds of the Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung, Germany. LK furthermore acknowledges support by the Open Access Publication Funds of Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung.