Investigation of an Elevational Gradient Reveals Strong Differences Between Bacterial and Eukaryotic Communities Coinhabiting Nepenthes Phytotelmata.

ABSTRACT: Elevation is an important determinant of ecological community composition. It integrates several abiotic features and leads to strong, repeatable patterns of community structure, including changes in the abundance and richness of numerous taxa. However, the influence of elevational gradients on microbes is understudied relative to plants and animals. To compare the influence of elevation on multiple taxa simultaneously, we sampled phytotelm communities within a tropical pitcher plant (Nepenthes mindanaoensis) along a gradient from 400 to 1200 m a.s.l. We use a combination of metabarcoding and physical counts to assess diversity and richness of bacteria, micro-eukaryotes, and arthropods, and compare the effect of elevation on community structure to that of regulation by a number of plant fa

SUBMITTER: Gilbert KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7371667 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature