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Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
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Microbial communities display alternative stable states in a fluctuating environment.

Clare I Abreu1, Vilhelm L Andersen Woltz1, Jonathan Friedman2

  • 1Physics of Living Systems, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Plos Computational Biology
|May 27, 2020
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Environmental fluctuations can lead to alternative stable states in microbial communities, not always increased biodiversity. The timing of environmental changes significantly impacts species survival, with implications for ecological modeling.

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Microbiology
  • Theoretical Ecology

Background:

  • Environmental fluctuations are key drivers in ecological systems.
  • While disturbances can increase biodiversity, other outcomes like competitive exclusion are possible.
  • Understanding species' responses to fluctuating environments is crucial for ecological theory.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of environmental fluctuations on bacterial community dynamics.
  • To explore whether fluctuating environments lead to coexistence or alternative stable states.
  • To test the predictions of the Lotka-Volterra model in fluctuating conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing laboratory microcosms with cocultures of two bacterial species (P. putida and P. veronii).
  • Manipulating dilution rates (low, high, and alternating) to simulate environmental fluctuations.
  • Comparing experimental results with predictions from the Lotka-Volterra model.

Main Results:

  • At low dilution rates, P. veronii was excluded; at high rates, P. putida was excluded.
  • Alternating dilution rates resulted in alternative stable states, dependent on initial species proportions.
  • The Lotka-Volterra model accurately predicted these outcomes, including the effect of time-averaged mortality.

Conclusions:

  • Fluctuating environments can lead to alternative stable states rather than guaranteed coexistence or increased biodiversity.
  • The timing of environmental fluctuations is critical in determining community structure.
  • Simple ecological models, like Lotka-Volterra, can effectively predict community responses to environmental variability.