Data presented in the paper "Introduced marine ecosystem engineer indirectly affects parasitism in native mussel hosts"

Research objective: The alteration of habitat structure by introduced ecosystem engineers imposes direct impacts on native biota but can also exert trait-mediated indirect effects (TMIEs). In this study, we show that the habitat structure provided by invasive Pacific oysters (<i>Crassostrea gigas</i>) can also indirectly affect parasitism in blue mussels (<i>Mytilus edulis</i>). Type of research, method &amp; collection of data: We conducted a three-month field experiment, in which uninfected mussels were positioned at the bottom and top of two intertidal oyster reefs in the Wadden Sea.<br>

研究目标：外来生态系统工程师（ecosystem engineers）对栖息地结构的改造，不仅会对本地生物群落产生直接影响，还可引发性状介导的间接效应（trait-mediated indirect effects, TMIEs）。本研究证实，入侵种太平洋牡蛎（Pacific oyster, <i>Crassostrea gigas</i>）所构建的栖息地结构，还会间接影响蓝贻贝（blue mussel, <i>Mytilus edulis</i>）的寄生感染情况。<br>研究类型、方法与数据采集：本研究开展了为期三个月的野外原位实验，将未感染的贻贝放置于瓦登海（Wadden Sea）两处潮间带牡蛎礁的底部与顶部区域。