E. coli microcosms indicate a tight link between predictability of ecosystem dynamics and diversity.
The diversity-stability hypothesis proposes that ecosystem diversity is positively correlated with stability. The impact of ecosystem diversity is, however, still debated. In a microcosm experiment using diverged Escherichia coli cells, we show that the fitness of community members depends on the complexity (number of participants) of the system. Interestingly, the spread of a community member with a superior genotype is mostly stochastic in low-complexity systems, but highly deterministic in a more complex environment. We conclude that system complexity provides a buffer against stochastic effects.
Imhof
Marianne
M
Institut für Tierzucht und Genetik, Wien, Austria.
Schlötterer
Christian
C
D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017753:Ecosystem; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008954:Models, Biological; D009154:Mutation; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D049490:Systems Biology