MTM2: DRIVERS OF FUNCTIONAL REDUNDANCY ACROSS MICROBIOMES

Microbes are essential components of all ecosystems. Human activity has impacted microbes across a wide range of natural ecosystems, including oceans, soils, and human guts. In most cases, humans simplify these environments, resulting in a decrease in the number of different microbial species present and a corresponding decrease in the number of different functions that these microbes can perform. Both losses have been linked to decreases in ecosystem health. What is not well understand is whether human-mediated ecosystem simplification causes losses in microbial ‘functional redundancy’ – the number of different microbial species that can perform any given function. Functional redundancy is important, because it provides ecosystem insurance – in a redundant system, when one microbial species goes extinct, there is another waiting to take its place. If human activity is driving large losses in functional redundancy, then microbial ecosystems will become more and more fragile, and more and more prone to collapse. This project will characterize the functional redundancy of microbes in a variety of ecosystems that range in habitat complexity by using experimental research, theoretical modelling, and novel computational methods. The end goals of this project are to identify rules that govern the relationship between complexity, functional redundancy and health of microbial ecosystems as well as train graduate students and postdoctoral scientists in interdisciplinary research. This project will also help educate undergraduates and the public about the importance of science through social media outlets, videos, and the development of interdisciplinary curricula for first year college students.