Passive sampling hypothesis did not shape microbial species-area relationships in open microcosm systems

The passive sampling hypothesis is one of the most important hypotheses used to explain the mechanism of species-area relationships (SAR) formation. This hypothesis has not yet been experimentally validated due to the confusion between passive sampling (a larger area may support more colonists when fully sampled) and sampling effects (more sampling effort will result in increased species richness when sampling is partial). In this study, we created an open microcosm system with homogeneous habitat, consistent total resources, and biodiversity background using Chinese paocai soup, a fermented vegetable, as a substrate. We made efforts to entirely exclude the influence of sampling effects and to exclusively obtain microorganisms from dispersal using microcosm and high-throughput sequencing techniques. However, in this study, passive sampling based on dispersal failed to shape SAR, and community differences were predominantly caused by species replacement, with only minor contributions from richness differences. Ecological processes including extinction and competitive exclusion, as well as underlying factors like temporal scales and the small island effects, are very likely to have been involved in the studied system. To elucidate the mechanism of SAR development, future studies should design experiments to validate the involvement of dispersal independently.