Coastal Eukaryotic Plankton Diversity of the Southern Adriatic as Revealed by Metabarcoding

Plankton studies serve as a basis for marine ecosystem research, but knowledge of marine plankton is still incomplete due to its extreme taxonomic and functional complexity. The application of metabarcoding is very valuable for the characterisation of the plankton community. The plankton community o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDiversity (Basel) Vol. 16; no. 5; p. 293
Main Authors Baricevic, Ana, Kogovsek, Tjasa, Smodlaka Tankovic, Mirta, Grizancic, Lana, Knjaz, Mia, Vlasicek, Ivan, Podolsak, Ivan, Kuzat, Natasa, Pfannkuchen, Martin, Maric Pfannkuchen, Daniela
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.05.2024
Subjects
Adriatic Sea
Biodiversity
Bioinformatics
Climate change
Control
Distribution patterns
DNA barcoding
Ecosystem biology
Eukaryotes
Genera
Genetic aspects
Identification and classification
Invertebrates
Marine ecosystems
metabarcoding
Methods
Morphology
Plankton
Seasonal distribution
Seasonal variations
Taxonomy
Mediterranean Sea
United States > US
Adriatic Sea
Germany
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Summary:Plankton studies serve as a basis for marine ecosystem research, but knowledge of marine plankton is still incomplete due to its extreme taxonomic and functional complexity. The application of metabarcoding is very valuable for the characterisation of the plankton community. The plankton community of the Southern Adriatic is subject to strong environmental fluctuations and changes, which underlines the need for frequent, reliable and comprehensive characterisation of the plankton. The aim of this study was to determine the taxonomic composition and seasonal distribution of eukaryotic plankton in the Southern Adriatic. Plankton samples were collected monthly for one year at the coastal station of the Southern Adriatic and metabarcoding was used for taxonomic identification. The results showed a high taxonomic diversity and dynamic seasonal distribution patterns for both the protist and metazoan plankton communities. Metabarcoding revealed both the core, year-round plankton community and previously unrecorded plankton organisms in the Southern Adriatic. The results provide for the first time a comprehensive overview of the plankton community in this area by metabarcoding. The identified seasonal patterns of plankton genera and species in the Southern Adriatic will contribute to the understanding of plankton interactions and future changes in community diversity characterisation.
ISSN:1424-2818
1424-2818
DOI:10.3390/d16050293