Quantification of the relative roles of niche and neutral processes in structuring gastrointestinal microbiomes.

ABSTRACT: The theoretical description of the forces that shape ecological communities focuses around two classes of models. In niche theory, deterministic interactions between species, individuals, and the environment are considered the dominant factor, whereas in neutral theory, stochastic forces, such as demographic noise, speciation, and immigration, are dominant. Species abundance distributions predicted by the two classes of theory are difficult to distinguish empirically, making it problematic to deduce ecological dynamics from typical measures of diversity and community structure. Here, we show that the fusion of species abundance data with genome-derived measures of evolutionary distance can provide a clear indication of ecological dynamics, capable of quantifying the relative roles played b

SUBMITTER: Jeraldo P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3382495 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature