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Single-throughput Complementary High-resolution Analytical Techniques for Characterizing Complex Natural Organic Matter Mixtures

Single-throughput Complementary High-resolution Analytical Techniques for Characterizing Complex Natural Organic Matter Mixtures

Published on: January 7, 2019

Closed ecosystems extract energy through self-organized nutrient cycles.

Akshit Goyal¹, Avi I Flamholz^2,3, Alexander P Petroff⁴

¹Department of Physics, Massachusetts Insitute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|December 21, 2023

Summary

Diverse microbial communities self-organize to stabilize nutrient cycles and efficiently extract energy. This thermodynamic feedback loop enhances ecosystem stability and function, even with increasing light energy.

Keywords:

adaptation biogeochemical cycles ecosystems redox metabolism self-organization

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Thermodynamics
Microbial Ecology

Background:

Earth's ecosystems are largely closed to matter and exhibit self-organizing, stable nutrient cycles.
Existing ecological models fail to replicate the observed self-organization and stability in natural ecosystems.
Understanding these dynamics is crucial for modeling planetary-scale ecosystems.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a conceptual model explaining the self-organization and stability of closed microbial ecosystems.
To incorporate bioenergetics of metabolism into ecological frameworks.
To identify mechanisms driving nutrient cycle stabilization in diverse communities.

Main Methods:

Development of a conceptual ecological model integrating metabolic bioenergetics.
Analysis of thermodynamic feedback loops within the model.
Simulation of nutrient cycling dynamics in microbial communities of varying diversity.

Main Results:

A key thermodynamic feedback loop was identified, enabling stable nutrient cycles in metabolically diverse communities.
Highly diverse communities self-organized to extract significantly more energy (approx. 10% of maximum) compared to randomized communities (approx. 100-fold less).
Increasing diversity correlated with stable nutrient cycle fluxes, but higher light energy led to more variable and species-dependent fluxes.

Conclusions:

Self-organization is a critical factor promoting energy extraction efficiency and stability in complex ecosystems.
The findings highlight the role of bioenergetics in ecosystem self-organization and resilience.
These principles apply to diverse ecosystems, from microbial mats to planetary scales, without central coordination.