scholarly journals Interannual variability in climate effects on community assembly and ecosystem functioning in restored prairie

Ecosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. e02327 ◽  
Author(s):  
George C. Manning ◽  
Sara G. Baer
Keyword(s):  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Community Assembly ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Climate Effects ◽  
Restored Prairie

scholarly journals Stochastic Assembly Leads to Alternative Communities with Distinct Functions in a Bioreactor Microbial Community

mBio ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jizhong Zhou ◽  
Wenzong Liu ◽  
Ye Deng ◽  
Yi-Huei Jiang ◽  
Kai Xue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Diversity ◽  
Microbial Community Structure ◽  
Community Assembly ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Microbial Biodiversity ◽  
Stochastic Assembly

ABSTRACTThe processes and mechanisms of community assembly and its relationships to community functioning are central issues in ecology. Both deterministic and stochastic factors play important roles in shaping community composition and structure, but the connection between community assembly and ecosystem functioning remains elusive, especially in microbial communities. Here, we used microbial electrolysis cell reactors as a model system to examine the roles of stochastic assembly in determining microbial community structure and functions. Under identical environmental conditions with the same source community, ecological drift (i.e., initial stochastic colonization) and subsequent biotic interactions created dramatically different communities with little overlap among 14 identical reactors, indicating that stochastic assembly played dominant roles in determining microbial community structure. Neutral community modeling analysis revealed that deterministic factors also played significant roles in shaping microbial community structure in these reactors. Most importantly, the newly formed communities differed substantially in community functions (e.g., H2production), which showed strong linkages to community structure. This study is the first to demonstrate that stochastic assembly plays a dominant role in determining not only community structure but also ecosystem functions. Elucidating the links among community assembly, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning is critical to understanding ecosystem functioning, biodiversity preservation, and ecosystem management.IMPORTANCEMicroorganisms are the most diverse group of life known on earth. Although it is well documented that microbial natural biodiversity is extremely high, it is not clear why such high diversity is generated and maintained. Numerous studies have established the roles of niche-based deterministic factors (e.g., pH, temperature, and salt) in shaping microbial biodiversity, the importance of stochastic processes in generating microbial biodiversity is rarely appreciated. Moreover, while microorganisms mediate many ecosystem processes, the relationship between microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning remains largely elusive. Using a well-controlled laboratory system, this study provides empirical support for the dominant role of stochastic assembly in creating variations of microbial diversity and the first explicit evidence for the critical role of community assembly in influencing ecosystem functioning. The results presented in this study represent important contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms, especially stochastic processes, involved in shaping microbial biodiversity.

Influence of Phylogeny on Fungal Community Assembly and Ecosystem Functioning

Science ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 316 (5832) ◽  
pp. 1746-1748 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Maherali ◽  
J. N. Klironomos
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Community ◽  
Community Assembly ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning

scholarly journals Biotic interactions, community assembly, and eco-evolutionary dynamics as drivers of long-term biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nico Eisenhauer ◽  
Michael Bonkowski ◽  
Ulrich Brose ◽  
Francois Buscot ◽  
Walter Durka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Assembly ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Research Unit ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Feedback Effects ◽  
Biodiversity Change ◽  
Diversity Effects ◽  
The Jena Experiment

The functioning and service provisioning of ecosystems in the face of anthropogenic environmental and biodiversity change is a cornerstone of ecological research. The last three decades of biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) research have provided compelling evidence for the significant positive role of biodiversity in the functioning of many ecosystems. Despite broad consensus of this relationship, the underlying ecological and evolutionary mechanisms have not been well understood. This complicates the transition from a description of patterns to a predictive science. The proposed Research Unit aims at filling this gap of knowledge by applying novel experimental and analytical approaches in one of the longest-running biodiversity experiments in the world: the Jena Experiment. The central aim of the Research Unit is to uncover the mechanisms that determine BEF relationships in the short- and in the long-term. Increasing BEF relationships with time in long-term experiments do not only call for a paradigm shift in the appreciation of the relevance of biodiversity change, they likely are key to understanding the mechanisms of BEF relationships in general. The subprojects of the proposed Research Unit fall into two tightly linked main categories with two research areas each that aim at exploring variation in community assembly processes and resulting differences in biotic interactions as determinants of the long-term BEF relationship. Subprojects under “Microbial community assembly” and “Assembly and functions of animal communities” mostly focus on plant diversity effects on the assembly of communities and their feedback effects on biotic interactions and ecosystem functions. Subprojects under “Mediators of plant-biotic interactions” and “Intraspecific diversity and micro-evolutionary changes” mostly focus on plant diversity effects on plant trait expression and micro-evolutionary adaptation, and subsequent feedback effects on biotic interactions and ecosystem functions. This unification of evolutionary and ecosystem processes requires collaboration across the proposed subprojects in targeted plant and soil history experiments using cutting-edge technology and will produce significant synergies and novel mechanistic insights into BEF relationships. The Research Unit of the Jena Experiment is uniquely positioned in this context by taking an interdisciplinary and integrative approach to capture whole-ecosystem responses to changes in biodiversity and to advance a vibrant research field.

β-Diversity, Community Assembly, and Ecosystem Functioning

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 549-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira S. Mori ◽  
Forest Isbell ◽  
Rupert Seidl
Keyword(s):  
Community Assembly ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Β Diversity

scholarly journals Community assembly effects shape the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1523-1533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Jaillard ◽  
Alain Rapaport ◽  
Jérôme Harmand ◽  
Alain Brauman ◽  
Naoise Nunan
Keyword(s):  
Community Assembly ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning

Some concluding remarks and a look ahead

2019 ◽  
pp. 334-340
Author(s):  
Gary G. Mittelbach ◽  
Brian J. McGill
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Community Assembly ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Look Ahead ◽  
Local And Regional Processes ◽  
Regional Processes

This chapter reflects on the successes achieved and challenges that remain in the study of ecological communities. It concludes with a discussion of research topics expected to occupy the attention of community ecologists for the next decade or so and that may yield big dividends in terms of understanding the processes that structure communities and govern their functioning. These include metacommunities and the integration of local and regional processes; the drivers of regional biodiversity; community assembly and functional traits; pathogens, parasites and natural enemies; biodiversity and ecosystem functioning; changing technology will change how we collect data; eco-evolutionary feedbacks and regional pool processes; climate change, and its effects on species distributions and species interactions; and the role of time.

scholarly journals Using phylogenetics in community assembly and ecosystem functioning research

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 589-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Narwani ◽  
Blake Matthews ◽  
Jeremy Fox ◽  
Patrick Venail
Keyword(s):  
Community Assembly ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning

Ecosystem functioning of canopy- and turf- forming algae: contrasting supply of invertebrate prey to pelagic consumers

2020 ◽  
Vol 647 ◽  
pp. 79-92
Author(s):  
CK Figueiredo ◽  
RC Duarte ◽  
AAV Flores
Keyword(s):  
Community Assembly ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Invertebrate Community ◽  
Invertebrate Fauna ◽  
Invertebrate Prey ◽  
Trophic Resources ◽  
Juvenile Reef Fish ◽  
Invertebrate Assemblages ◽  
Algal Turfs

Macroalgal canopies are declining worldwide and are being replaced by low-lying algal turfs which frequently dominate reefscapes. Their loss may impact reef ecosystems in different ways, including the collapse of small canopy-dwelling invertebrates, and thus the decline of juvenile reef fish that prey on them. To evaluate this potential loss, we assessed (1) the differences between the mobile invertebrate assemblages associated with turf-forming (filamentous and articulated coralline turf) and canopy-forming (Sargassum spp. and Dichotomaria marginata) algae, and (2) the mechanisms underlying those contrasts by examining the invertebrate community assembly of filamentous turf and Sargassum spp. over the main canopy season. Abundance, biomass and diversity almost always differed between canopies and turfs (although not in a consistent way across sampling sites), while differences within canopy and turf algal types were nearly absent. The structure of invertebrate assemblages differed more consistently between canopies and turfs, with certain hard-bodied and soft-bodied invertebrates characterizing canopies and turfs, respectively. This divergence increased as the canopy season advanced. While no temporal changes occurred in turf invertebrate assemblages, clear temporal dynamics occurred in the invertebrate fauna associated with Sargassum. Brittle stars and amphipods were most abundant as early colonizers, followed by hard-shelled gastropods, bivalves and ostracods. By the end of the season, these groups became dominant and decreased diversity in the canopy habitat. As hard-shelled prey are preferred items for the main invertivore fish species in the area, results suggest that canopies may play an important role in the provisioning of trophic resources to pelagic consumers.

Experimentally altered rainfall regimes and host root traits affect grassland arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coline Deveautour ◽  
Suzanne Donn ◽  
Sally Power ◽  
Kirk Barnett ◽  
Jeff Powell
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Community ◽  
Community Assembly ◽  
Root Length ◽  
Specific Root Length ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Rainfall Regime ◽  
Precipitation Regimes ◽  
Rainfall Regimes

Future climate scenarios predict changes in rainfall regimes. These changes are expected to affect plants via effects on the expression of root traits associated with water and nutrient uptake. Associated microorganisms may also respond to these new precipitation regimes, either directly in response to changes in the soil environment or indirectly in response to altered root trait expression. We characterised arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities in an Australian grassland exposed to experimentally altered rainfall regimes. We used Illumina sequencing to assess the responses of AM fungal communities associated with four plant species sampled in different watering treatments and evaluated the extent to which shifts were associated with changes in root traits. We observed that altered rainfall regimes affected the composition but not the richness of the AM fungal communities, and we found distinctive communities in the increased rainfall treatment. We found no evidence of altered rainfall regime effects via changes in host physiology because none of the studied traits were affected by changes in rainfall. However, specific root length was observed to correlate with AM fungal richness, while concentrations of phosphorus and calcium in root tissue and the proportion of root length allocated to fine roots were correlated to community composition. Our study provides evidence that climate change and its effects on rainfall may influence AM fungal community assembly, as do plant traits related to plant nutrition and water uptake. We did not find evidence that host responses to altered rainfall drive AM fungal community assembly in this grassland ecosystem.

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