RUI: Nonequilibrium Determinants of Microbial Community Structure in Intertidal Sediments: Role of Deposit Feeding

植物细菌在沉积系统中起着双重作用：作为有机碎屑的分解者和作为高等生物的食物。关键的生态参数，如丰度、产量和群落组成都对这些角色的特征有贡献。本研究的主要目的是确定细菌组合从沉积物摄食无脊椎动物（沉积物摄食动物）的摄食中恢复的机制，并评估这种生物干扰对沉积物细菌群落结构的重要性。我们将确定非平衡因子在产生时空异质性和维持微生物群落多样性方面的重要性，特别是在沉积物摄食和一般干扰下。我们希望揭示构建和测试斑块动力学模型所需的重要变量，从而为预测沉积物中本地和引入细菌的群落结构和代谢活动提供基础。

DEB-0108615PlanteBacteria serve dual roles in sedimentary systems: as decomposers of organic detritus and as food for higher organisms. Key ecological parameters such as abundance, production, and community composition each contribute to the character of these roles. The primary objectives of the research proposed here are to determine the mechanisms by which bacterial assemblages recover from ingestion by sediment-feeding invertebrates (deposit feeders), and to assess the importance of this biological disturbance to the structure of sedimentary bacterial communities. We will determine the significance of nonequilibrium factors in creating spatio-temporal heterogeneity and maintaining diversity in microbial communities exposed to deposit feeding in particular, and disturbances in general. We hope to reveal those important variables required to construct and test patch dynamics models, thereby providing a basis for predictions regarding the community structure and metabolic activities of indigenous and introduced bacteria in sediments.