Airborne dispersal of microorganisms is a ubiquitous
migration mechanism, allowing otherwise independent
microbial habitats to interact via biomass exchange. Here,
we study the ecological implications of such advective
transport using a simple spatial model for bacteria–phage
interactions: the population dynamics at each habitat are
described by classical Lotka–Volterra equations; however,
species populations are taken as integer, that is, a discrete,
positive extinction threshold exists. Spatially, species can
spread from habitat to habitat by stochastic airborne
dispersal. In any given habitat, the spatial biomass exchange
causes incessant population density oscillations, which, as
a consequence, occasionally drive species to extinction. The
balance between local extinction events and dispersal-induced
migration allows species to persist globally, even though
diversity would be depleted by competitive exclusion, locally.
The disruptive effect of biomass dispersal thus acts to
increase microbial diversity, allowing system-scale coexistence
of multiple species that would not coexist locally.
Garrido Zornoza M., Mitarai N. and Haerter J.O. (2024) Stochastic microbial dispersal drives local extinction and global diversity. Royal Society Open Science 11(5). 10.1098/rsos.231301
@article{Garrido Zornoza2024,
Title = {Stochastic microbial dispersal drives local extinction and global diversity},
Author = {Garrido Zornoza, Miguel and Mitarai, Namiko and Haerter, Jan O.},
Editor = {},
Journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
Year = {2024},
Volume = {11},
Doi = {10.1098/rsos.231301},
Abstract = {Airborne dispersal of microorganisms is a ubiquitous
migration mechanism, allowing otherwise independent
microbial habitats to interact via biomass exchange. Here,
we study the ecological implications of such advective
transport using a simple spatial model for bacteria–phage
interactions: the population dynamics at each habitat are
described by classical Lotka–Volterra equations; however,
species populations are taken as integer, that is, a discrete,
positive extinction threshold exists. Spatially, species can
spread from habitat to habitat by stochastic airborne
dispersal. In any given habitat, the spatial biomass exchange
causes incessant population density oscillations, which, as
a consequence, occasionally drive species to extinction. The
balance between local extinction events and dispersal-induced
migration allows species to persist globally, even though
diversity would be depleted by competitive exclusion, locally.
The disruptive effect of biomass dispersal thus acts to
increase microbial diversity, allowing system-scale coexistence
of multiple species that would not coexist locally.},
}
TY - JOUR
AU - Garrido Zornoza, Miguel
AU - Mitarai, Namiko
AU - Haerter, Jan O.
TI - Stochastic microbial dispersal drives local extinction and global diversity
T2 - Royal Society Open Science
PY - 2024
VL - 11
DO - 10.1098/rsos.231301
AB - Airborne dispersal of microorganisms is a ubiquitous
migration mechanism, allowing otherwise independent
microbial habitats to interact via biomass exchange. Here,
we study the ecological implications of such advective
transport using a simple spatial model for bacteria–phage
interactions: the population dynamics at each habitat are
described by classical Lotka–Volterra equations; however,
species populations are taken as integer, that is, a discrete,
positive extinction threshold exists. Spatially, species can
spread from habitat to habitat by stochastic airborne
dispersal. In any given habitat, the spatial biomass exchange
causes incessant population density oscillations, which, as
a consequence, occasionally drive species to extinction. The
balance between local extinction events and dispersal-induced
migration allows species to persist globally, even though
diversity would be depleted by competitive exclusion, locally.
The disruptive effect of biomass dispersal thus acts to
increase microbial diversity, allowing system-scale coexistence
of multiple species that would not coexist locally.
ER -
