Frequency comparisons of phyla found in three size class fractions 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mm.

<p>(A) Frequency of phyla by size identified using the COI gene at six meadows. Analyses include two years (2010 and 2010) for the Sainte Marguerite meadow. (B) Frequency of phyla by size identified using the 18S gene at two meadows. (C) Frequency of phyla found at the ≥1 mm size class via morphological identifications.</p

Analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) testing across meadow, core and mesh size spatial scales, performed in PAST [51].

<p>NS = not significant, * 0.5mm size fraction significantly differs from both 1 and 2mm fractions (p < 0.05).</p

Map of six <i>Zostera marina</i> seagrass meadows along the coast of Brittany, France, where sediment collections were performed.

<p>Map of six <i>Zostera marina</i> seagrass meadows along the coast of Brittany, France, where sediment collections were performed.</p

Frequencies of phyla uncovered in <i>Zostera marina</i> sediment, using morphological and molecular (COI and 18S) surveys.

<p>Bar lengths correspond to the frequency of molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) assigned to a specific phyla for each survey method. The numbers above each frequency bar refer to the number of MOTUs identified by each respective survey method. Numbers in brackets [N] above the COI bars correspond to the number of COI MOTUs that were initially unassigned, but once individually blasted to identify taxonomy, matched to major phyla. Numbers without brackets above COI correspond to those MOTUs that were initially identified (n = 944). Tree was produced using the iTOL tool.</p

Frequency comparisons of phyla found in three size class fractions 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mm.

<p>(A) Frequency of phyla by size identified using the COI gene at six meadows. Analyses include two years (2010 and 2010) for the Sainte Marguerite meadow. (B) Frequency of phyla by size identified using the 18S gene at two meadows. (C) Frequency of phyla found at the ≥1 mm size class via morphological identifications.</p

Sediment sampling schematic for the present study.

<p>Sediment sampling schematic for the present study.</p

Chao1 values presented by meadow for morphological and molecular surveys.

<p>Dark bar colors for the molecular surveys denote the inclusion of three size fractions, while light bar colors denote the exclusion of the 0.5mm size fraction, done for accurate comparisons with morphological surveys. Chao1 values were calculated using Vegan community ecology package implemented in R [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0117562#pone.0117562.ref050" target="_blank">50</a>].</p

Principal Component Analyses (PCA) for the morphological and molecular surveys of meadows.

<p>(A) PCA for the morphological inventory. (B) PCA for molecular inventory was performed using the COI gene. Each PCA was implemented using Jaccard dissimilarity matrices. Points are individual sediment samples taken at a specific core and mesh size, while colored ellipses are 95% confidence intervals for each meadow. For COI, the Sainte Marguerite cluster contains samples from 2010 (open circles) and 2011 (closed circles). Colors of the ellipses are specific to each meadow and these colors were maintained across both PCAs.</p

Locations of six <i>Zostera marina</i> seagrass meadows from where sediment collections were made.

<p>Implemented barcoding markers were Cytochrome Oxidase (COI) and the small subunit 18S ribosomal RNA region (18S).</p

Taxonomic percentages and counts of Molecular Operational Taxonomic units (MOTUs) initially unassigned for COI and 18S, inferred using NCBI BLAST public nucleotide database.

<p>(A) Taxonomic percentages for the 12,548 unassigned MOTUs for the COI gene. The top pie chart illustrates the proportions of each domain, while the bottom pie chart estimates the proportions of metazoan versus non-metazoans within the eukaryotes. (B) Taxonomic percentages for the 48 unassigned MOTUs for the 18S gene. The pie chart is divided into non-metazons versus unknown Eukaryotes. The initially unassigned MOTUs for both genes were identified using the blast-stand alone program with the “blastn” algorithm under default parameters.</p