Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Start Date

5-8-2024 9:00 AM

End Date

5-8-2024 11:00 AM

Subjects

Doliolum, Marine Ecology

Advisor

Anne Thompson

Student Level

Doctoral

Abstract

Doliolids have a unique ability to impact the marine microbial community through bloom events and high filtration rates. Their predation on large eukaryotic microorganisms is established and evidence of predation on smaller prokaryotic microorganisms is beginning to emerge. We studied the retention of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbial taxa by wild-caught doliolids in the northern California Current system. We use qPCR to quantify the impact of doliolids on three important and globally abundant taxa: Synechococcus, SAR11 and diatoms. Doliolids were collected during bloom events identified at three different shelf locations with variable upwelling intensities. We discovered that in addition to eukaryotic phytoplankton, doliolids feed on a range of prokaryotic microbial functional groups. Prey included pelagic Archaea, Pelagibacter, and picocyanobacteria, expanding our understanding of doliolid feeding to the smallest and most numerous microbial community members of the ocean. We also found that doliolids retain SAR11, which is intriguing because some SAR11 lineages may evade predation by other benthic and pelagic tunicates through their surface properties. Given the ability of doliolids to clear large portions of seawater by filtration and their high abundance in this system, we suggest that doliolids are an important player in shaping microbial community structure, primary production, and carbon fate in an ecologically and economically important fisheries system.

Creative Commons License or Rights Statement

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41930

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May 8th, 9:00 AM May 8th, 11:00 AM

The Influence of a Ubiquitous Filter Feeder on Coastal Microbial Communities.

Doliolids have a unique ability to impact the marine microbial community through bloom events and high filtration rates. Their predation on large eukaryotic microorganisms is established and evidence of predation on smaller prokaryotic microorganisms is beginning to emerge. We studied the retention of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbial taxa by wild-caught doliolids in the northern California Current system. We use qPCR to quantify the impact of doliolids on three important and globally abundant taxa: Synechococcus, SAR11 and diatoms. Doliolids were collected during bloom events identified at three different shelf locations with variable upwelling intensities. We discovered that in addition to eukaryotic phytoplankton, doliolids feed on a range of prokaryotic microbial functional groups. Prey included pelagic Archaea, Pelagibacter, and picocyanobacteria, expanding our understanding of doliolid feeding to the smallest and most numerous microbial community members of the ocean. We also found that doliolids retain SAR11, which is intriguing because some SAR11 lineages may evade predation by other benthic and pelagic tunicates through their surface properties. Given the ability of doliolids to clear large portions of seawater by filtration and their high abundance in this system, we suggest that doliolids are an important player in shaping microbial community structure, primary production, and carbon fate in an ecologically and economically important fisheries system.