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Project

Top-down controls in marine benthic foodwebs: effects of bacterivores and their predators on bacterial communities, and implications for ecosystem functioning

This project investigates the importance of (a) predatory and (b) horizontal (competitive, facilitative, U+2026) interactions for meiobenthic community assembly. It also investigates how meiofauna affect bacterial community structure, diversity and metabolism, and benthic ecosystem functions like organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling. The focus of this project is on top-down effects and on trophic cascades from predators over bacterivores to bacteria.

Date:1 Jan 2009 →  31 Oct 2013
Keywords:predation, ecosystem function, community structure, grazing, benthos, trophic interactions, marine, harpacticoid copepods, bacteria, biodiversity, nematodes
Disciplines:Laboratory medicine, Geology, Microbiology, Animal biology, Aquatic sciences, challenges and pollution, Systems biology