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Harvard Forest Research

Long-term experimental assessment of dispersal limitation in eukaryotic microbial communities

Principal Investigator: Benjamin Wolfe
Harvard University: Jun 15 2007 - Sep 01 2012:

Abstract:
With the growing use of nucleic acid based techniques for describing microbial diversity of soils, the spatial and temporal patterns of soil microbial diversity have been described in many ecosystems. Although general patterns of microbial community composition have been observed, it remains unclear what factors influence the assembly and maintenance of diversity in soil microbial communities and whether concepts from the ecology of macrobiota (plants and animals) apply to microbial ecology. Classic work in plant and animal communities has shown that dispersal limitation is one factor that can influence local community diversity, but this mechanism has never been explicitly tested in microbial communities. Using the fungal genus Amanita as a model system, I will assess the role of dispersal limitation in structuring the composition of eukaryotic microbial communities. I will establish small long-term monitoring plots in two sites at the Harvard Forest where I will initiate a propagule addition experiment. Throughout the fungal fruiting season, propagules of Amanita species collected throughout the Harvard Forest will be added to half of the plots to test assess if the distribution of Amanita species at the Harvard Forest is limited by dispersal. The other half of the plots will receive the same amount of sterilized propagules as a control. Treatment effects from propagule additions will be assessed with DNA and RNA based assessments of soil fungal diversity. If Amanita species are dispersal limited, I expect to see a greater abundance and diversity of Amanita species in plots where propagules were added. In addition to assessing how dispersal limitation might influence forest fungal community diversity, this research will provide critical information on the enigmatic process of dispersal and establishment in fungal communities.: