The zooplankton-microbiome (MicroZoo): beyond microbe-host associations

Zooplankton is a crucial component of aquatic food webs. Microbes colonizing zooplankton species  have been proposed to provide numerous ecosystem services including nutrient acquisition, stress protection, detoxification, and habitat provision but can also affect lake biogeochemistry by catalyzing important biogeochemical reactions. The MicroZoo project focusses on the role of zooplankton-microbe interactions in the functioning of freshwater aquatic food webs and lake biogeochemistry. This will be done by a combination of field and laboratory experiments, jointly executed by the departments of Microbial and Aquatic Ecology.

Theme: 

Microbiomes

Funding

KNAW

Research team

Femke van Beersum

Paul Bodelier

Steven Declerck

Wolf Mooij

Dedmer van de Waal