Differences in Nematoda community structure
The Nematoda 18S rRNA dataset showed differences in community composition along the OC gradient. This included e.g. the nematode genusSabatieria that was detected at all stations and had a significantly higher relative abundance at the High OC stations when compared to Low OC (52.2 ± 7.9 % compared to 22.2 ± 3.5 % (% denote portion of Nematoda community, Mann-Whitney U test, U = 16, P = 0.006; Figure 5a). Similarly, the genusAxonolaimus had a higher relative abundance at High OC stations (8.9 ± 2.3 % compared to 0.7 ± 0.2 %, Mann-Whitney U test, U = 0, P = 0.000007; Figure 5a). In contrast, in the Low OC stations the genera Daptonema (19.7 ± 3.0 %) and Desmolaimus (4.8 ± 0.7 %) had a higher relative abundance when compared to High OC withDaptonema (4.0 ± 0.7 %, U = 2, P = 0.000027) andDesmolaimus (0.7 ± 0.2 %, U = 1, P = 0.000014) (Mann-Whitney U tests; Figure 5a).