Microbial Assemblage Dynamics Within the American Alligator Nesting Ecosystem: a Comparative Approach Across...

Area of Science:

• Microbial ecology
• Community ecology
• Environmental microbiology

Background:

• Ecological processes influencing species assemblage patterns are scale-dependent.
• The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) nesting environment presents a unique microbial habitat.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate bacterial taxonomic and functional assemblage patterns at micro-, meso-, and macroscales within the American alligator nesting microbiome.
• To determine the ecological processes driving these patterns by correlating assemblage data across different spatial scales.

Main Methods:

• Utilized metabarcoding and shotgun sequencing for bacterial analysis.
• Examined eight nesting compartments (microscale), 18 nests (mesoscale), and 4 geographic sites (macroscale).
• Correlated bacterial taxonomic and functional diversity (α-diversity) and structure (β-diversity) across scales.

Main Results:

• Bacterial taxonomic and functional richness (α-diversity) did not differ significantly across scales.
• Bacterial assemblage structure (β-diversity) was distinct at each focal scale.
• Functional pathways exhibited redundancy within nests and across geographic sites.

Conclusions:

• Bacterial taxonomic composition is likely influenced by scale-specific environmental filters and dispersal limitations.
• Microbial functional attributes appear more conserved than taxonomic composition within the alligator nesting environment.
• Findings advance understanding of pattern-process dynamics in microbial community ecology and alligator nesting microbiomes.