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Integrating theory and experiment to explain the breakdown of population synchrony in a complex microbial community
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Bowen, Emma J., Parsons, Todd L., Curtis, Thomas P., Plotkin, Joshua B. and Quince, Christopher (2016) Integrating theory and experiment to explain the breakdown of population synchrony in a complex microbial community. Working Paper. Coventry, UK : University of Warwick, Warwick Medical School. (Unpublished)
An open access version can be found in:Abstract
We consider the extension of the `Moran effect', where correlated noise generates synchrony between isolated single species populations, to the study of synchrony between populations embedded in multi-species communities. In laboratory experiments on complex microbial communities, comprising both predators (protozoa) and prey (bacteria), we observe synchrony in abundances between isolated replicates. A breakdown in synchrony occurs for both predator and prey as the reactor dilution rate increases, which corresponds to both an increased rate of input of external resources and an increased effective mortality though washout. The breakdown is more rapid, however, for the lower trophic level. We can explain this phenomenon using a mathematical framework for determining synchrony between populations in multi-species communities at equilibrium. We assume that there are multiple sources of environmental noise with different degrees of correlation that affect the individual species population dynamics differently. The deterministic dynamics can then influence the degree of synchrony between species in different communities. In the case of a stable equilibrium community synchrony is controlled by the eigenvalue with smallest negative real part. Intuitively fluctuations are minimally damped in this direction. We show that the experimental observations are consistent with this framework but only for multiplicative noise.
Item Type: | Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper) | ||||
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Biomedical Sciences Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Biomedical Sciences > Microbiology & Infection Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
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Publisher: | University of Warwick, Warwick Medical School | ||||
Place of Publication: | Coventry, UK | ||||
Official Date: | 2016 | ||||
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Status: | Not Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||
Open Access Version: |
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