Feeding ecology of the urchin symbiont Dactylopleustes yoshimurai (Amphipoda) revealed by DNA metabarcoding

Amphipods of the genus Dactylopleustes are known as urchin symbionts. Though their ecology remains largely unknown, Dactylopleustes was recently reported to aggregate on diseased hosts, suggesting that Dactylopleustes feeds on diseased urchins tissues and uses urchins as both a habitat and prey. We investigated by DNA metabarcoding analyses, the feeding ecology of Dactylopleustes yoshimurai in relation to growth and disease status of the host urchin, Strongylocentrotus intermedius.