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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Compost Microcosms as Microbially Diverse, Natural-like Environments for Microbiome Research in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: September 13, 2022
The role of experimental microcosms in ecological research
1Dept of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5.
Abstract:
A number of recent and important developments in community ecology have been derived from experiments conducted in microcosms. Studies with microcosms have addressed a broad range of phenomena, including climate change, biodiversity, assembly rules, habitat restoration, trophic dynamics and mycorrhizal associations. The common factor linking these studies is that they manipulate an individual environmental axis and explore the role that axis plays in structuring communities. We discuss six recent studies to illustrate the use and design of microcosms for community ecology research.
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