Bridging the gap between micro - and macro-scale perspectives on the role of microbial communities in global change ecology

Abstract

In order to understand the role microbial communities play in mediating ecosystem response to disturbances it is essential to address the methodological and conceptual gap that exists between micro-and macro-scale perspectives in ecology. While there is little doubt microorganisms play a central role in ecosystem functioning and therefore in ecosystem response to global change-induced disturbance, our ability to investigate the exact nature of that role is limited by disciplinary and methodological differences among microbial and ecosystem ecologists. In this paper we present results from an interdisciplinary graduate-level seminar class focused on this topic. Through the medium of case studies in global change ecology (soil respiration, nitrogen cycling, plant species invasion and land use/cover change) we highlight differences in our respective approach to ecology and give examples where disciplinary perspective influences our interpretation of the system under study. Finally, we suggest a model for integrating perspectives that may lead to greater interdisciplinary collaboration and enhanced conceptual and mechanistic modeling of ecosystem response to disturbance.

Integrating microbial ecology into ecosystem models: challenges and priorities

“…The idea that microbial community composition could influence ecosystem functioning has received much recent attention (Balser et al 2002(Balser et al , 2006Cavigelli and Robertson 2000;Fierer et al 2007;Green et al 2008;Levine et al 2011;Schimel and Gulledge 1998). Microbial communities can shift under warming, N fertilization, and precipitation manipulations in natural ecosystems (Allison and Martiny 2008 and references therein;Castro et al 2010;Evans and Wallenstein 2011;Hawkes et al 2011;Schimel et al 1999;Williams 2007), but consequences of these shifts for C dynamics are difficult to predict (Allison and Martiny 2008;Kent and Triplett 2002;Rousk et al 2009).…”

Habitat-specific environmental conditions primarily control the microbiomes of the coral Seriatopora hystrix

“…As with terrestrial ecosystems (Balser et al, 2006), coral reef-associated microbes are thought to drive biochemical and ecological processes including nitrogen (Williams et al, 1987;Shashar et al, 1994;Ritchie and Smith, 1995b;Lesser et al, 2004;Lesser et al, 2007;Olson et al, 2009;Kimes et al, 2010;Lema et al, 2012) and carbon cycling (Ducklow and Mitchell, 1979;Ritchie and Smith, 1995b;Wild et al, 2004bWild et al, , 2010b, allowing reefs to prosper in the oligotrophic waters of the tropics. In addition to their role in driving ecosystem function through nutrient cycling, microbes also have an important role in coral health.…”

Distribution of nonprescription pharmaceuticals in central Indiana streams and effects on sediment microbial activity

“…Studies assessing the potential environmental risk of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystems have primarily focused on acute toxicity tests for higher organisms (e.g., invertebrates and fish; Smith and Burgett 2005;Crane et al 2006;Heckmann et al 2007) with limited data assessing effects on microbial organisms (Lawrence et al 2005). Microbial processes (respiration, nutrient uptake) are a holistic measure of ecosystem function as they are essential to nutrient flow and the transformation of organic matter (Hall and Meyer 1998;Hill et al 2000;Balser et al 2006;Nweke et al 2007). Thus, microbial communities are commonly used to examine the influence of contaminants on aquatic ecosystems (Balser et al 2006) and can provide vital information about the influence of pharmaceuticals to both ecosystems and organisms.…”