Parasitic chytrids as a mycoloop

Description:

Description: English: Diagram of a “mycoloop.” Parasitic chytrids can transfer material from large inedible phytoplankton to zooplankton. Chytrids zoospores are excellent food for zooplankton in terms of size (2–5 μm in diameter), shape, nutritional quality (rich in PUFAs and cholesterols). Large colonies of host phytoplankton may also be fragmented by chytrid infections and become edible to zooplankton. On the other hand, infected host colonies may remain inedible to Daphnia, or even become less edible due to the aggregate formation of cells. Those aggregations may sink faster, and affect material cycling in lakes. Date: 3 April 2014, 15:19:28. Source: [1]. Author: Maiko Kagami, Takeshi Miki and Gaku Takimoto.