Biofilms are sites of elevated microbial diversity in streams ecosystems. Their communities can include thousands of taxa, which co-exist in a crowded yet structured space. Puzzled by this complexity, we combine ecological theory, such as metacommunity ecology, and molecular biology to unravel the assembly and succession of biofilm communities and to understand diversity dynamics across temporal and spatial scales. Spatial scales range from the millimetre-scale in the biofilms themselves to entire stream networks. Temporal scales cover the entire process of biofilm formation and the response of these structures to perturbation. Our microbial diversity studies range from boreal streams to high-alpine and glacier-fed streams.
Further reading
1. Widder S, K Besemer, GA Singer, S Ceola, E Bertuzzo, C Quince, WT Sloan, A Rinaldo & TJ Battin (2014) Fluvial network organization imprints on microbial co-occurrence networks. PNAS doi/10.1073/pnas.1411723111.
2. Besemer, K, GA Singer, C Quince, E Bertuzzo, W Sloan& TJ Battin (2013) Headwaters are critical reservoirs of microbial diversity for fluvial networks. Proceedings of the Royal Society B doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.1760.
3. Wilhelm L, K Besemer, L Fragner, H Peter, W Weckwerth& TJ. Battin. Altitudinal patterns of diversity and functional traits of metabolically active microorganisms in stream biofilms The ISME Journal doi:10.1038/ismej.2015.56.
4. WilhelmL, GA Singer, C Fasching, TJ Battin & K Besemer. (2013) Microbial biodiversity in glacier-fed streams. The ISME Journal. doi:10.1038/ismej.2013.44.
5. Besemer, K., Hödl, I., Singer, G. & Battin, TJ (2009) Architectural differentiation reflects bacterial community structure in stream biofilms. The ISME Journal, 3, 1318–1324.