Filter-feeding mesozooplankton as uncharted accomplices in marine virus ecology. VIROVAC

The primary objective is to characterize the trophic link bewteen marine viruses and appendicularians (filter-feeding mesozooplankton) as a regulatory mechanism for virus fate in the marine environment.Secondary objectives:1. To quantify clearance, house-trapping, ingestion and defecation rates of viruses by appendicularians.2. To determine the persistence of viruses trapped in appendicularian houses and expelled in faecal pellets.3. To examine appendicularian, host and virus distributions in situ to explore the role of appendicularians in the vertical distribution of viruses.