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Collective dynamical regimes predict invasion success and impacts in microbial communities
Jiliang Hu1,2, Matthieu Barbier3,4, Guy Bunin5
1Physics of Living Systems, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Nature Ecology & Evolution
|January 6, 2025
Summary
Ecological invasion success in microbial communities depends on species dynamics and interactions. Fluctuating communities are more invasible, and strong interactions increase invasion impact.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Microbial Ecology
- Community Ecology
Background:
- Ecological invasion outcomes are influenced by invader traits and resident community attributes.
- Understanding the factors governing invasion success is crucial for predicting biodiversity changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how community dynamics, interaction strength, and diversity influence invasion outcomes in microbial systems.
- To reconcile the diversity-invasibility debate by examining the interplay of these factors.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a combination of experimental manipulations and theoretical modeling.
- Assessed invasibility and invasion effects across microbial communities with varying dynamics and interaction strengths.
Main Results:
- Communities with fluctuating species abundances exhibited higher invasibility and diversity.
- Increased interspecies interaction strength and species pool size decreased invasion probability.
- A positive correlation was observed between invasibility and the survival fraction of resident species.
- Stronger interactions amplified the ecological effects of successful invasions.
Conclusions:
- Invasion outcomes and effects are emergent properties of species interactions within a community.
- Community-level features, such as dynamics and interaction strength, can predict invasibility.
- The study offers a unified perspective on the diversity-invasibility relationship in ecological systems.
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