Diversity essentials: uncovering genotype and trait diversity under climate change Phytoplankton are microscopically small photosynthesizing unicellular organisms at the basis of marine food webs. Their habitat, the oceanic ecosystem, has rapidly moved into a new human-mediated geological epoch - the Anthropocene, causing a loss in diversity. Both changes in species and genetic diversity affect ecosystem functioning of phytoplankton communities. The proposed research aims to explore undiscovered natural genetic diversity of key phytoplankton species by the use and development of recent technical advances (such as the Microsatellite PoolSeq Barcoding-approach) in molecular ecology. Further, we aim to set genotype shifts affecting intraspecific trait diversity into an ecological context by studying its contribution to community functioning. Overall, this project will greatly enhance our mechanistic understanding of how natural phytoplankton communities respond to concurrent climate change and has the potential to advance our ability to predict future changes.

2022