Research project Consequences of environmental change on plankton species interaction networks and ecosystem function

A major challenge is to predict how shifts in community composition at the base of marine food webs affect higher trophic levels and ecosystem functioning. The purpose of this project is to investigate zooplankton feeding preferences and hereby their function as intermediates between primary producers and fish communities, through in situ identification of dietary uptake using novel DNA barcoding and modelling. We also investigate patterns and functions of gut symbiotic bacteria in zooplankton. This information is used to predict how changes in the composition of communities due to natural and human-induced disturbances affect population dynamics and food web stability, important attributes to ecosystem functions. This project is connected to a former VR project.