Project
Evolutionary Ecology Of Microbiome Structure And Functionality In Anthropogenically Controlled Aquatic Eco-Systems
Environmental factors influence biodiversity patterns of microbiomes through species sorting. Experiments on mechanisms and effects of species sorting are currently lagging behind due to unavailability of suitable experimental model systems that contain suitable microbiomes. Aquaculture ponds make a good model for such experiments. This study aims to exploit varying aquacultural management approaches to determine the correlations between environmental factors and microbiome biodiversity patterns. We hypothesize that different treatments will influence changes in microbial biodiversity resulting in varying species composition and functionality.
Biodiversity patterns in ecosystems include species richness, proportions of individuals over species and collective functionality. Environmental factors shape these patterns through species sorting (Alekseeva et al.,2018). Overtime, novel mutations in specific species may be fixed within ecosystems due to these environmental factors that can then be regarded as eco-evolutionary factors (Alekseeva et al., 2018). These novel ecosystems may be a threat to human health and the environments with concerns that include the spread of pathogens and antibiotic resistance (Nogales et al., 2011). Aquacultural systems, particularly fishponds make a good microbial ecosystem model for studying effects of environmental factors as they are subjected to varying treatments including fish feed, pond fertilizers, antibiotics and pH regulators (Genschick, Kefi and Cole, 2017;Lastauskiene et al., 2021).
Project description
Within the field of microbial ecology, various lines of research aim to understand how interactions between the microbiome and its environment shape functional properties of complex microbial communities (Konopka, 2009). Upon selection, community composition is expected to change through species sorting (Van der Gutch et al.,2007). Various theoretical predictions exist on how microbial communities may respond to selection from various forces (Konopka, 2009). Here, we aim to perform experimental tests that address ecological theories. Such experimental tests have been lagging due to lack of suitable experimental model systems and affordable techniques for microbiome analysis (Alekseeva et al., 2018). Anthropogenically controlled aquatic environments such as fishponds contain natural microbial ecosystems that are subjected to various treatments that represent ecological selection pressures. These ponds make a good model for understanding how varying eco-evolutionary factors impact biodiversity patterns and microbiome dynamics of complex natural microbial communities.
Specifically, we will test how eco-evolutionary factors drive species sorting and community functional traits of an ecosystem, using a these natural community model of fish ponds under different treatments. We hypothesize that anthropogenic factors will exert an ecological selection that leads to species sorting resulting in changes in functionality.