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Parasitic Chytrids Upgrade and Convey Primary Produced Carbon During Inedible Algae Proliferation
Serena Rasconi1, Robert Ptacnik1, Stefanie Danner1
1WasserCluster - Biologische Station Lunz, Inter-university Center for Aquatic Ecosystem Research, Dr. Carl Kupelwieser Promenade 5, A-3293 Lunz am See, Austria.
Protist
|October 30, 2020
Summary
Parasitic fungi (chytrids) enhance aquatic food webs by upgrading nutrient quality. These parasites transfer essential fatty acids to consumers, especially when inedible algae proliferate due to climate change.
Area of Science:
- * Aquatic ecology
- * Microbial ecology
- * Food web dynamics
Background:
- * Microbial parasites are newly recognized in planktonic food web research.
- * Their role in energy transfer remains largely unknown.
- * Chytrid fungi infecting phytoplankton may offer alternative trophic pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the functional role of chytrid parasites in planktonic food webs.
- * To assess the nutritional quality and biochemical composition of phytoplankton-parasite associations.
- * To trace nutrient transfer pathways using stable isotope analysis.
Main Methods:
- * Laboratory cultivation of phytoplankton-parasite associations.
- * Analysis of fatty acid and biochemical composition.
- * Compound-specific stable isotope analysis to track metabolic pathways.
Main Results:
- * Chytrids act as trophic upgraders, retaining and transferring essential nutrients.
- * Zoospores produced by chytrids contain vital long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.
- * Parasitism provides a significant source of nutrition, improving food web quality.
Conclusions:
- * Chytrid parasitism represents a crucial alternative trophic link in aquatic ecosystems.
- * This pathway is vital for nutrient transfer, especially during blooms of inedible or low-quality algae.
- * Parasitism supports consumer growth and reproduction, particularly in the context of climate change.
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