Table 1 Important terms and definitions employed
From: A conceptual framework for the phylogenetically constrained assembly of microbial communities
Term | Definition | Reference/adapted from |
|---|---|---|
Community assembly | The sum of all processes that shape the composition of a microbial community | [2] |
Dispersal | Movement of organisms across space | [2] |
Diversification | Increase in diversity of populations in a community caused by the emergence of new genetic variants | [2] |
Drift | Stochastic changes in the relative abundance of populations in a community over time | [2] |
Ecological coherence | Shared life strategy or traits among a group of populations that distinguish them from members of other groups | [3] |
Ecological function | A population’s interaction or ecological role that prevents secondary extinctions, maintains a biogeochemical flux or pool, or supports ecosystem productivity. | [4] |
Higher-scale sampling | Refers to the common inability to sample individual patches from a microbial environment | This study |
Metacommunity | A set of local communities linked by dispersal of multiple interacting species | [5] |
Metacommunity theory | The study of spatially distinct communities linked through dispersal | [6] |
Microbial community | Group of potentially interacting microbial populations that co-exist in space and time | [7] |
Microbial regimes | Alternative functional states operating in apparently equal environments | This study |
Non-phylo-niches | Within a patch, niches whose occupancy requires a specific set of traits not showing strong phylogenetic conservation | This study |
Patch | A locality capable of holding a local community | [6] |
Phylo-niches | Within a patch, niches whose occupancy require a specific phylogenetically conserved set of traits | This study |
Phylogenetic core groups (PCGs) | Discrete portions of the phylogeny present in all instances of a given microbial regime | This study |
Population | All genetically and functionally homogeneous individuals within a patch | This study |
Priority effect | Ability of early arriving species to competitively suppress late-arriving ones | [8] |
Selection | Changes in community composition caused by deterministic fitness differences between populations | [2] |
Trait | Any heritable characteristic that affects the fitness or function of an individual | [9] |