Combined niche and neutral effects in a microbial wastewater treatment community

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1000604107
• Publication Date: 2010-08-13T02:36:44Z
• Authors: Irina Dana Ofiţeru; Mary Lunn; Thomas P. Curtis; George F. Wells; Craig S. Criddle; Christopher A. Fr...; William T. Sloan
• Keywords: DNA, Bacterial; 0303 health sciences; Time Factors; Bacteria; Sewage; Population Dynamics; Models, Biological; 6. Clean water; 12. Responsible consumption; 03 medical and health sciences; 11. Sustainability; Biomass; Water Microbiology; Algorithms; Ecosystem; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length

It has long been assumed that differences in the relative abundance of taxa microbial communities reflect environmental conditions. Here we show economically and environmentally important a wastewater treatment plant, population dynamics are consistent with neutral community assembly, where chance random immigration play an predictable role shaping communities. Using dynamic observations, demonstrate straightforward calibration purely model parsimonious method to incorporate influence on reproduction (or birth) rate individual taxa. The calibrated parameters biologically plausible, turnover diversity heterotrophic being higher than for ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) into AOB relatively higher. When factors were incorporated more variance observations could be explained but deaths remained dominant driver determining common Consequently suggest models should foundation any description open biological system.