title: Urban stress is associated with variation in microbial species composition-but not richness-in Manhattan.
abstract: The biological diversity and composition of microorganisms influences both human health outcomes and ecological processes; therefore, understanding the factors that influence microbial biodiversity is key to creating healthy, functional landscapes in which to live. In general, biological diversity is predicted to be limited by habitat size, which for green areas is often reduced in cities, and by chronic disturbance (stress). These hypotheses have not previously been tested in microbial systems in direct comparison to macroorganisms. Here we analyzed bacterial, fungal and ant communities in small road medians (average area 0.0008 km(2)) and larger parks (average area 0.64 km(2)) across Manhattan (NYC). Bacterial species richness was not significantly different between medians and parks, but community composition was significantly distinct. In contrast, ant communities differed both in composition and richness with fewer ant species in medians than parks. Fungi showed no significant variation in composition or richness but had few shared taxa between habitats or sites. The diversity and composition of microbes appears less sensitive to habitat patchiness or urban stress than those of macroorganisms. Microbes and their associated ecosystem services and functions may be more resilient to the negative effects of urbanization than has been previously appreciated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.|Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Aspen T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Reese
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, Camden, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Youngsteadt
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.|Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Krista L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koling
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Olivia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Robert R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D044822:Biodiversity; D017753:Ecosystem; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009519:New York City; D000068316:Parks, Recreational; D010802:Phylogeny; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014504:Urban Health