Version 1
: Received: 23 May 2023 / Approved: 25 May 2023 / Online: 25 May 2023 (03:05:45 CEST)
Version 2
: Received: 19 October 2023 / Approved: 23 October 2023 / Online: 24 October 2023 (16:46:07 CEST)
How to cite:
Sole, R.; Maull, V. Engineering Microbiomes for Restoration and Conservation: A Resource-Consumer Model. Preprints2023, 2023051717. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1717.v1
Sole, R.; Maull, V. Engineering Microbiomes for Restoration and Conservation: A Resource-Consumer Model. Preprints 2023, 2023051717. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1717.v1
Sole, R.; Maull, V. Engineering Microbiomes for Restoration and Conservation: A Resource-Consumer Model. Preprints2023, 2023051717. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1717.v1
APA Style
Sole, R., & Maull, V. (2023). Engineering Microbiomes for Restoration and Conservation: A Resource-Consumer Model. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1717.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Sole, R. and Victor Maull. 2023 "Engineering Microbiomes for Restoration and Conservation: A Resource-Consumer Model" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1717.v1
Abstract
The possibility of abrupt transitions threatens to poise ecosystems into irreversibly degraded states. Recently, it has been proposed the use of engineered microbiomes in endangered ecosystems to prevent them to cross tipping points and avoid collapse. Potential targets for such interventions include some of the most prominent life-support systems in the biosphere: drylands and coral reefs. Since engineering can require the introduction of microorganisms not present in resident communities, how can we weight the potential outcomes? One way is to use general models of species interactions where the "synthetic" strain is incorporated into a standard multispecies model. Here we follow this approach by modelling a resource-consumer community where one of the species is a modified one that acts by preserving some key resource. We show how the indirect effect of damping the decay of shared resources results in biodiversity increase, and last but not less, the successful incorporation of the synthetic within the ecological network. Further extensions and implications for future restoration and terraformation strategies are discussed.
Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
