Table 3.
Choice and availability of key research for the understanding of fluvial virus ecology. Some issues have been studied previously, but all need a larger database from various climatic regions and from different types of fluvial waters
| Research area | Partly available | Single or rare | Missing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion of virus‐mediated host mortality versus grazing | X | ||
| Proportion of viral lifestyles (lytic versus lysogenic) | X | ||
| Diurnal studies | X | ||
| Impact of flooding, flow currents and turbulence on viruses | X | ||
| Role of suspended particles and biofilms on viral processes and survival | X | ||
| Viral processes in sediments and at the aquatic–terrestrial interface | X | ||
| Mechanisms of control on viral activity | X | ||
| Viral diversity, viral effect on host diversity | X | ||
| Role of archaeal viruses | X | ||
| Role of eukaryotic viruses | X | ||
| Metagenomic and proteomic studies | X | ||
| Chemical nature and bioreactivity of viral lysis products and lysozymes | X | ||
| Horizontal transport of virus‐influenced solutes and particles | X | ||
| Horizontal dissemination of virus particles | X | ||
| Contribution of virus activity to CO2 outgassing | X | ||
| Biogeochemical relevance of the bacterial–viral loop | X | ||
| Up‐scaling of virus‐related processes to the catchment scale and beyond | X |