Ecosystem functions of tropical filter-feedersunder environmental change

Mussels, bryozoans and sponges are sessile filter-feeders that are known tofulfil important ecosystem functions in temperate freshwater habitats, such aswater clearance, nutrient cycling and promotion ofbenthic biodiversity;yet intropical freshwaters, their functional roles are poorly understood. At the same time, anthropogenic pressures, including deforestation and land-use change,havecaused tropical filter-feeding communities to undergo severecompositional changes.As an example,in the biodiversity hotspot Borneo, native musselshave become increasingly rare, whilst a non-native invaderis now the most common mussel on the island. This project aims to understand how anthropogenically induced changes in sessile filter-feeding communities affectecosystem functioning of tropical freshwaters.This will be achieved through a combination offield surveys, in situ-mesocosm experiments and laboratory-based experiments.Fieldwork will be conductedin Sarawak, Borneo, in collaboration with the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak,the University of Nottingham Malaysiaand their local partners, including WWF Malaysia. Under the guidance ofworld-leading molecularecologistsat Bangor University and CASE partnerNatureMetrics, cutting edge (e)DNAmetabarcodingtechniques will be appliedto complement traditional methods to sample and describe filter-feeding and associatedinvertebratecommunities. Knowledge gained from the project will provide an evidence basefordeveloping policies to mitigate anthropogenic threats to tropical freshwater biodiversity and functioning.