Marine Virus-Like Particles and Microbes: A Linear Interpretation

Viruses are key players in ocean ecology and biogeochemistry, not only because of their functional roles but also partially due to their sheer abundance (Fuhrman, 1999; Wilhelm and Suttle, 1999). Because viruses cannot replicate without their hosts’ machinery, their abundance is inextricably related to that of their (mostly microbial) hosts. The relationship between viral and microbial abundances is thus of great interest.