Biogeographic Patterns and Assembly Mechanisms of Bacterial Communities Differ Between Habitat Generalists and Specialists Across Elevational Gradients

Soil bacterial communities on Mount Wutai’s subalpine slopes exhibit distinct assembly mechanisms for habitat generalists and specialists. Generalists, comprising 10.9% of OTUs, are shaped by both environmental selection (e.g., elevation, nitrogen, pH) and stochastic spatial factors, while specialists (10.0%) are predominantly governed by deterministic processes like soil water content, nitrate nitrogen, and pH. Null model analysis revealed that specialists deviate significantly from neutral assembly mechanisms, unlike generalists, indicating complex, unexplained assembly dynamics in specialists. This study advances understanding of microbial biogeography by demonstrating divergent ecological strategies between generalist and specialist taxa across elevational gradients.

Luo, Z., Liu, J., Zhao, P., Jia, T., Li, C., & Chai, B. (2019). Biogeographic Patterns and Assembly Mechanisms of Bacterial Communities Differ Between Habitat Generalists and Specialists Across Elevational Gradients. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00169