title: Resource-dependent attenuation of species interactions during bacterial succession.
abstract: Bacterial communities are vital for many economically and ecologically important processes. The role of bacterial community composition in determining ecosystem functioning depends critically on interactions among bacterial taxa. Several studies have shown that, despite a predominance of negative interactions in communities, bacteria are able to display positive interactions given the appropriate evolutionary or ecological conditions. We were interested in how interspecific interactions develop over time in a naturalistic setting of low resource supply rates. We assembled aquatic bacterial communities in microcosms and assayed the productivity (respiration and growth) and substrate degradation while tracking community composition. The results demonstrated that while bacterial communities displayed strongly negative interactions during the early phase of colonisation and acclimatisation to novel biotic and abiotic factors, this antagonism declined over time towards a more neutral state. This was associated with a shift from use of labile substrates in early succession to use of recalcitrant substrates later in succession, confirming a crucial role of resource dynamics in linking interspecific interactions with ecosystem functioning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire, UK.
authors.forename: Damian W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Rivett
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Scheuerl
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Culbert
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire, UK.
authors.forename: Shorok B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Mombrikotb
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire, UK.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Johnstone
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire, UK.
authors.forename: Timothy G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Barraclough
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D044822:Biodiversity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D056265:Microbial Interactions; D064307:Microbiota