Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Methods to Assess Microbial Communities01:19

Methods to Assess Microbial Communities

Microbial communities, comprising bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotic microorganisms, inhabit diverse ecosystems and play crucial roles in environmental and biological processes. Their diversity is defined by three main parameters: species richness (the number of distinct species), species abundance (the relative quantity of each species), and species evenness (how uniformly individual species are distributed in various locations). These factors together shape the structure and ecological balance...
Introduction to Microbial Ecology01:28

Introduction to Microbial Ecology

Microbial ecology examines the complex web of interactions and diversity among microorganisms within various ecosystems. This field seeks to understand how microbial populations adapt to and influence their environments and how these interactions shape broader ecological processes. Microbes are integral to ecosystem function, participating in nutrient cycling, energy flow, and the maintenance of environmental homeostasis.An ecosystem represents a dynamic interaction between living organisms...
Microenvironments01:22

Microenvironments

Microorganisms inhabit highly localized spaces known as microenvironments, which are defined by distinct physical and chemical characteristics. These include oxygen concentration, pH, temperature, light availability, and nutrient levels. The conditions within a microenvironment can differ markedly from those in the surrounding area and significantly influence microbial growth, metabolism, and community structure.Microenvironments often display sharp physicochemical gradients over small spatial...
Methods to Assess Microbial Populations01:30

Methods to Assess Microbial Populations

Assessing microbial populations is crucial for understanding microbial roles in health, ecology, and industry. Various complementary techniques—both culture-based and molecular—enable detailed analysis of microbial abundance, diversity, and function.Viable Plate CountThe viable plate count is a traditional culture-based method used to estimate the number of living microbes in a sample. After serial dilution, the sample is spread onto nutrient agar plates. Each viable cell forms a visible...
Diversity of Protists IV01:27

Diversity of Protists IV

Amoebozoa represent a diverse group of terrestrial and aquatic protists that utilize lobe-shaped pseudopodia for locomotion and feeding. This characteristic differentiates them from the Rhizaria, which possess threadlike pseudopodia. The primary classifications within Amoebozoa include gymnamoebas, entamoebas, and the plasmodial and cellular slime molds. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that Amoebozoa diverged from a lineage that ultimately gave rise to fungi and animals.Gymnamoebas and...
Diversity of Archaea IV01:29

Diversity of Archaea IV

Hyperthermophilic archaea are a group of extremophiles thriving at temperatures above 80°C, often in hydrothermal vents and volcanic soils where conditions surpass the boiling point of water. At such temperatures, proteins, membranes, and DNA in most organisms degrade, but hyperthermophiles have evolved remarkable adaptations to maintain stability and function.Unique Cellular FeaturesHyperthermophilic membranes are composed of a monolayer of biphytanyl tetraether lipids, which resist thermal...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Shared stream-lake patterns in diversity, rRNA-based activity and community assembly of bacteria and microeukaryotes under distinct hydrological regimes.

FEMS microbiology ecology·2026
Same author

Linking nutrient availability and community size to stochasticity in microbial community assembly.

FEMS microbiology ecology·2025
Same author

Human contributions to global soundscapes are less predictable than the acoustic rhythms of wildlife.

Nature ecology & evolution·2025
Same author

Thermal homogenization of boreal communities in response to climate warming.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Liming-induced taxonomic homogenization of chironomid assemblages in Scandinavian lakes as unraveled by paleolimnological reconstructions.

Journal of environmental management·2024
Same author

Global freshwater distribution of Telonemia protists.

The ISME journal·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Isolation and Analysis of Microbial Communities in Soil, Rhizosphere, and Roots in Perennial Grass Experiments
10:31

Isolation and Analysis of Microbial Communities in Soil, Rhizosphere, and Roots in Perennial Grass Experiments

Published on: July 24, 2018

Regional invariance among microbial communities.

Orjan Ostman1, Stina Drakare, Emma S Kritzberg

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolution/Population Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden. orjan.ostman@ebc.uu.se

Ecology Letters
|December 9, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Microbial communities, including aquatic bacteria and phytoplankton, exhibit significant similarity in composition, with abundant species being widespread. Regional abundance largely influences local populations, but environmental variation can alter this pattern.

More Related Videos

Microbiota Analysis Using Two-step PCR and Next-generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing
11:22

Microbiota Analysis Using Two-step PCR and Next-generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing

Published on: October 15, 2019

Divergence of Root Microbiota in Different Habitats based on Weighted Correlation Networks
09:49

Divergence of Root Microbiota in Different Habitats based on Weighted Correlation Networks

Published on: September 25, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Isolation and Analysis of Microbial Communities in Soil, Rhizosphere, and Roots in Perennial Grass Experiments
10:31

Isolation and Analysis of Microbial Communities in Soil, Rhizosphere, and Roots in Perennial Grass Experiments

Published on: July 24, 2018

Microbiota Analysis Using Two-step PCR and Next-generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing
11:22

Microbiota Analysis Using Two-step PCR and Next-generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing

Published on: October 15, 2019

Divergence of Root Microbiota in Different Habitats based on Weighted Correlation Networks
09:49

Divergence of Root Microbiota in Different Habitats based on Weighted Correlation Networks

Published on: September 25, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Microbial ecology
  • Community ecology
  • Aquatic microbiology

Background:

  • Microbial ecology research often investigates factors driving variations in microbial community composition across different sites.
  • Understanding these variations is crucial for comprehending microbial community assembly processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the similarity in community composition of aquatic bacteria and phytoplankton across multiple datasets.
  • To determine the extent to which regional abundance explains local community composition and detection frequencies.
  • To explore the influence of environmental variation on the relationship between regional and local microbial abundances.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of five independent datasets for both aquatic bacteria and phytoplankton.
  • Statistical assessment of community composition similarity.
  • Quantification of variation explained by regional abundance in detection frequency and local abundances.
  • Investigation of the impact of inter-site environmental variation.

Main Results:

  • Microbial communities, including bacteria and phytoplankton, displayed a high degree of compositional similarity.
  • Abundant taxa were found to be widely distributed across sites.
  • Regional abundance significantly explained variation in detection frequency (85% for bacteria, 41% for phytoplankton) and local abundances (58% for bacteria, 31% for phytoplankton).
  • The explanatory power of regional abundance decreased with increased environmental variation between sites.

Conclusions:

  • Microbial assemblages exhibit substantial similarity, challenging assumptions of high local distinctiveness.
  • Studies on microbial communities should incorporate community similarity to better understand assembly processes.
  • The concept of regional invariance may be linked to microbial evolution and the diversity of ecosystem functions.