01983nas a2200133 4500008004100000245011300041210007100154260001200225490000700237520149300244100002101737700002201758856006901780 2019 eng d00aUnimodal productivity–diversity relationships among bacterial communities in a simple polar soil ecosystem0 aUnimodal productivity–diversity relationships among bacterial co c07/20190 v213 a

Unlike other macroecological principles, relationships between productivity and diversity have not been effectively tested for microbial communities. Here we describe an experiment in which the availability of resources to soil bacterial communities was manipulated in a model system, the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Mannitol additions were used to simulate a productivity gradient such that a response in bacterial biomass production, taxonomic diversity and functioning (e.g., enzyme activity) were induced. Resource amendment induced a positive linear response in microbial productivity (P < 0.001) but a unimodal (hump‐shaped) response in microbial diversity at multiple taxonomic scales (P = 0.035). Putative oligotrophic (e.g., phyla Nitrospirae and Cyanobacteria) and copiotrophic (e.g., phylum Proteobacteria) taxa were apparent through substantial community turnover along the resource gradient. Soil enzyme activity was inversely related to bacterial biomass but positively related to diversity, suggesting the latter may be a stronger control over enzyme‐mediated decomposition. The mechanisms behind this pattern are consistent with macroecological theory of a shift from environmental (e.g., stress tolerance) to biotic (e.g., competition) drivers with increasing resource availability. This evidence is among the first of its kind to document a significant unimodal productivity–diversity relationship for soil bacteria.

1 aGeyer, Kevin, M.1 aBarrett, John, E. uhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1462-2920.1463903232nas a2200169 4500008004100000245012600041210006900167260001200236300001000248490000600258520266000264100002102924700003302945700002502978700002203003856003703025 2017 eng d00aPrimary productivity as a control over soil microbial diversity along environmental gradients in a polar desert ecosystem0 aPrimary productivity as a control over soil microbial diversity  c07/2017 ae33770 v53 a

Primary production is the fundamental source of energy to foodwebs and ecosystems, and is thus an important constraint on soil communities. This coupling is particularly evident in polar terrestrial ecosystems where biological diversity and activity is tightly constrained by edaphic gradients of productivity (e.g., soil moisture, organic carbon availability) and geochemical severity (e.g., pH, electrical conductivity). In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, environmental gradients determine numerous properties of soil communities and yet relatively few estimates of gross or net primary productivity (GPP, NPP) exist for this region. Here we describe a survey utilizing pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) fluorometry to estimate rates of GPP across a broad environmental gradient along with belowground microbial diversity and decomposition. PAM estimates of GPP ranged from an average of 0.27 mmol O2/m2/s in the most arid soils to an average of 6.97 mmol O2/m2/s in the most productive soils, the latter equivalent to 217 g C/m2/y in annual NPP assuming a 60 day growing season. A diversity index of four carbon-acquiring enzyme activities also increased with soil productivity, suggesting that the diversity of organic substrates in mesic environments may be an additional driver of microbial diversity. Overall, soil productivity was a stronger predictor of microbial diversity and enzymatic activity than any estimate of geochemical severity. These results highlight the fundamental role of environmental gradients to control community diversity and the dynamics of ecosystem-scale carbon pools in arid systems. 

1 aGeyer, Kevin, M.1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.1 aGooseff, Michael, N.1 aBarrett, John, E. uhttps://peerj.com/articles/3377/01816nas a2200181 4500008004100000245008400041210006900125260001200194300001200206490000700218520117800225100002101403700002501424700003301449700002501482700002201507856010501529 2014 eng d00aBacterial community composition of divergent soil habitats from a polar desert.0 aBacterial community composition of divergent soil habitats from  c08/2014 a490-4940 v893 aEdaphic factors such as pH, organic matter, and salinity are often the most significant drivers of diversity patterns in soil bacterial communities. Desert ecosystems in particular are model locations for examining such relationships as food web complexity is low and the soil environment is biogeochemically heterogeneous. Here, we present the findings from a 16S rRNA gene sequencing approach used to observe the differences in diversity and community composition among three divergent soil habitats of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Results show that alpha diversity is significantly lowered in high pH soils, which contain higher proportions of the phyla Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria, while mesic soils with higher soil organic carbon (and ammonium) content contain high proportions of Nitrospira, a nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. Taxonomic community resolution also had a significant impact on our conclusions, as pH was the primary predictor of phylum-level diversity, while moisture was the most significant predictor of diversity at the genus level. Predictive power also increased with increasing taxonomic resolution, suggesting a potential increase in nic1 aGeyer, Kevin, M.1 aAltrichter, Adam, E.1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.1 aGooseff, Michael, N.1 aBarrett, John, E. uhttps://mcm.lternet.edu/content/bacterial-community-composition-divergent-soil-habitats-polar-desert04232nas a2200193 4500008004100000245010200041210006900143260003400212490001000246520358400256653002003840653001703860653002403877653002203901653003403923100002103957700002203978856003804000 2014 eng d00aEnvironmental Controls Over the Distribution and Function of Antarctic Soil Bacterial Communities0 aEnvironmental Controls Over the Distribution and Function of Ant aBlacksburg, VAbVirginia Tech0 vPh.D.3 a

Microbial community composition plays a vital role in soil biogeochemical cycling. Information that explains the biogeography of microorganisms is consequently necessary for predicting the timing and magnitude of important ecosystem services mediated by soil biota, such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. Theory developed to explain patterns in plant and animal distributions such as the prevalent relationship between ecosystem productivity and diversity may be successfully extended to microbial systems and accelerate an emerging ecological understanding of the "unseen majority." These considerations suggest a need to define the important mechanisms which affect microbial biogeography as well as the sensitivity of community structure/function to changing climatic or environmental conditions. To this end, my dissertation covers three data chapters in which I have 1) examined patterns in bacterial biogeography using gradients of environmental severity and productivity to identify changes in community diversity (e.g. taxonomic richness) and structure (e.g. similarity); 2) detected potential bacterial ecotypes associated with distinct soil habitats such as those of high alkalinity or electrical conductivity and; 3) measured environmental controls over the function (e.g. primary production, exoenzyme activity) of soil organisms in an environment of severe environmental limitations. Sampling was performed in the polar desert of Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys, a model ecosystem which hosts microbially-dominated soil foodwebs and displays heterogeneously distributed soil properties across the landscape. Results for Chapter 2 indicate differential effects of resource availability and geochemical severity on bacterial communities, with a significant productivity-diversity relationship that plateaus near the highest observed concentrations of the limiting resource organic carbon (0.30mg C/g soil). Geochemical severity (e.g. pH, electrical conductivity) primarily affected bacterial community similarity and successfully explained the divergent structure of a subset of samples. 16S rRNA amplicon pyrosequencing further revealed in Chapter 3 the identity of specific phyla that preferentially exist within certain habitats (i.e. Acidobacteria in alkaline soils, Nitrospira in mesic soils) suggesting the presence of niche specialists and spatial heterogeneity of taxa-specific functions (i.e. nitrite oxidation). Additionally, environmental parameters had different explanatory power towards predicting bacterial richness at varying taxonomic scales, from 57% of phylum-level richness with pH to 91% of order- and genus-level richness with moisture. Finally, Chapter 4 details a simultaneous sampling of soil communities and their associated ecosystem functions (primary productivity, enzymatic decomposition) and indicates that the overall organic substrate diversity may be greater in mesic soils where bacterial diversity is also highest, thus a potentially unforeseen driver of community dynamics. I also quantified annual rates of soil production which range between 0.7 - 18.1g C/m2/yr from the more arid to productive soils, respectively. In conclusion, the extension of biogeographical theory for macroorganisms has proven successful and both environmental severity and resource availability have obvious (although different) effects on the diversity and composition of soil microbial communities.

 

10abiogeochemistry10abiogeography10aMcMurdo Dry Valleys10amicrobial ecology10aproductivity/diversity theory1 aGeyer, Kevin, M.1 aBarrett, John, E. uhttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/6441700652nas a2200181 4500008004100000245007600041210006900117260001200186300001100198490000600209100002100215700002500236700002400261700003300285700002500318700002200343856010500365 2013 eng d00aEnvironmental controls over bacterial communities in polar desert soils0 aEnvironmental controls over bacterial communities in polar deser c10/2013 aart1270 v41 aGeyer, Kevin, M.1 aAltrichter, Adam, E.1 aVan Horn, David, J.1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.1 aGooseff, Michael, N.1 aBarrett, John, E. uhttps://mcm.lternet.edu/content/environmental-controls-over-bacterial-communities-polar-desert-soils00764nas a2200205 4500008004100000245015000041210006900191260001200260300001100272490000600283100002400289700001800313700002200331700002500353700002500378700002100403700002200424700003300446856007900479 2013 eng d00aFactors Controlling Soil Microbial Biomass and Bacterial Diversity and Community Composition in a Cold Desert Ecosystem: Role of Geographic Scale0 aFactors Controlling Soil Microbial Biomass and Bacterial Diversi c06/2013 ae661030 v81 aVan Horn, David, J.1 aVan Horn, Lee1 aBarrett, John, E.1 aGooseff, Michael, N.1 aAltrichter, Adam, E.1 aGeyer, Kevin, M.1 aZeglin, Lydia, H.1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D. uhttp://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0066103