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Project

The impact of fairy shrimps, their symbionts and parasites on the functioning of temporary ponds under climate change (FAIRYPONDS)

Temporary ponds are essential to biodiversity conservation. Due to their small dimensions and dependence on rainfall and temperature, temporary ponds may be highly sensitive to climate change. Here, I focus on fairy shrimps (Anostraca) – keystone species of temporary pond food webs – and perform an integrated niche-characterization. I use sets of temporary pond communities and the same fairy shrimp species, from two regions in Hungary and Spain. I start with 1) a full food web reconstruction with special focus on the position of fairy shrimps. Growing evidence points to microscopic symbionts as key determinants of a host’s feeding niche and I will 2) investigate whether this is also the case for fairy shrimps. Finally, I will 3) assess the consequences of climate change on fairy shrimps and their diet which will notably contribute to predicting the effects of climate change on the functioning of temporary pond ecosystems.
Date:1 Oct 2020 →  30 Sep 2021
Keywords:parasites, food webs, temporary ponds, climate change, anostracans
Disciplines:Animal ecology, Climate change, Community ecology, Parasitology, Conservation and biodiversity