Species-time relationships for bacteria [Chapter 5]

Abstract

The identification of spatial patterns and their relationships to ecological events is an important specialization within ecology which is now branching into the microbial world. In spatial ecology, the detection of patterns at a given spatial scale can be used to explain ecological mechanisms and processes. Furthermore, through the application of spatial statistical analyses, factors leading to ecological events can be determined and verified. One of the most commonly studied aspects of spatial ecology, recently applied in microbial ecology, is the species–area relationship (SAR). The temporal analogue of the SAR, the species–time relationship (STR), on the other hand has received far less attention, even in the science of general ecology. Like SARs, the STRs are influenced by a variety of factors including dispersal, abiotic and biotic interactions, and species-species interactions. The application of these ecological conceptual tools to microbial ecology is a rapidly developing field. This chapter proposes that the STRs are a powerful and appropriate tool for studies of microbial diversity and that they make a contribution to understanding ecological communities. From a fundamental perspective, we focus on how microbial STRs compare with those for animals and plant communities, and how they are improving our understanding of community assembly and dynamics. As we believe a key future importance of studying STRs will be for applied benefit, we also discuss how microbial STRs have been used to distinguish between anthropogenic perturbations and underlying natural dynamics and have provided ecological insights for clinical benefit in bacterial infections