Structured environments fundamentally alter dynamics and stability of ecological communities.

ABSTRACT: The dynamics and stability of ecological communities are intimately linked with the specific interactions-like cooperation or predation-between constituent species. In microbial communities, like those found in soils or the mammalian gut, physical anisotropies produced by fluid flow and chemical gradients impact community structure and ecological dynamics, even in structurally isotropic environments. Although natural communities existing in physically unstructured environments are rare, the role of environmental structure in determining community dynamics and stability remains poorly studied. To address this gap, we used modified Lotka-Volterra simulations of competitive microbial communities to characterize the effects of surface structure on community dynamics. We find that environmental

SUBMITTER: Vallespir Lowery N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6329963 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature