Symposium: The Rainforest Within - Biodiversity of the Human Body and its Relationship to Health and Disease to be held at the Ecological Society of America - August 2-7, 2009

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Ecological studies of biodiversity have typically examined plants and animals living in communities, ecosystems, or across geographic or latitudinal gradients. New molecular tools make it possible to characterize microbial diversity; those tools now support studies of microbial communities in a growing number of environments. Interestingly, the plants and animals that were the focus of the first studies of biodiversity are themselves environments that can support highly diverse communities of microbes. Ecologists, interested in patterns and consequences of biodiversity, and microbiologists, interested in characterizing an apparently highly diverse community of microbes associated with the human body, will discuss their distinct approaches to studying biological diversity and investigate how their approaches can contribute to a better understanding of the composition and function of microbial communities associated with humans.The symposium co-organizer and moderator are both women, as are four participants, providing positive role models for young women in science. A second potentially significant broader impact will be an enhanced understanding of impacts that a diverse microbial community has on organismal health and function.