Neogloboquadrina pachyderma 16S metabarcoding analysis
Neogloboquadrina pachyderma is the only true polar species of planktonic foraminifera. It therefore plays a crucial role in the calcite flux, and in reconstructions and modelling of seasonality and environmental change within the high latitudes. The rapidly changing environment of the (sub)polar regions of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans poses severe environmental challenges for this species in terms of temperature, sea ice melt, calcite saturation and ocean pH, and competition from Atlantic species. To model the potential future for this important high latitude species, it is vital to investigate the modern ocean community structure throughout the annual cycle of the Arctic to understand the biological dependencies of N. pachyderma.The aim of our study was to genetically identify microorganisms that are associated with N. pachyderma Type I, either as part of the diet, or as endobionts. We used 16S rDNA metabarcoding to identify the microbial interactions of N. pachyderma during the summer ice-free conditions in Baffin Bay.