Biology subjects

Breed, M. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Breed, M. F..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Is the genomics cart before the restoration ecology horse? Insights from qualitative interviews and trends from the literature

Harnessing new technologies is vital to achieve global imperatives to restore degraded ecosystems. We explored the potential of genomics as one such tool. We aimed to understand barriers hindering the uptake of genomics, and how to overcome them, via exploratory interviews with leading scholars in both restoration and its sister discipline of conservation - a discipline that has successfully leveraged genomics. We also conducted an examination of research trends to explore some insights that emerged from the interviews, including publication trends that have used genomics to address restoration and conservation questions. Our qualitative findings revealed varied perspectives in harnessing genomics. For example, scholars in restoration without genomics experience felt genomics was over-hyped. Scholars with genomics experience emphatically emphasised the need to proceed cautiously in using genomics in restoration. Both genomics-experienced and less-experienced scholars called for case studies to demonstrate the benefits of genomics in restoration. These qualitative data contrasted with our examination of research trends, which revealed 70 restoration genomics studies, particularly studies using environmental DNA as a monitoring tool. We provide a roadmap to facilitate the uptake of genomics into restoration, to help the restoration sector meet the monumental task of restoring huge areas to biodiverse and functional ecosystems.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2021

Rare genera differentiate urban green space soil bacterial communities in three cities across the world

Vegetation complexity is potentially important for urban green space designs aimed at fostering microbial biodiversity to benefit human health. Exposure to urban microbial biodiversity may influence human health outcomes via immune training and regulation. In this context, improving human exposure to microbiota via biodiversity-centric urban green space designs is an underused opportunity. There is currently little knowledge on the association between vegetation complexity (i.e., diversity and structure) and soil microbiota of urban green spaces. Here, we investigated the association between vegetation complexity and soil bacteria in urban green spaces in Bournemouth, UK; Haikou, China; and the City of Playford, Australia by sequencing the 16S rRNA V4 gene region of soil samples and assessing bacterial diversity. We characterized these green spaces as having low or high vegetation complexity and explored whether these two broad categories contained similar bacterial community compositions and diversity around the world. Within cities, we observed significantly different alpha and beta diversities between vegetation complexities; however, these results varied between cities. Rare genera (< 1 % relative abundance individually, on average 35 % relative abundance when pooled) were most likely to be significantly different in sequence abundance between vegetation complexities and therefore explained much of the differences in microbial communities observed. Overall, general associations exist between soil bacterial communities and vegetation complexity, although these are not consistent between cities. Therefore, more in-depth work is required to be done locally to derive practical actions to assist the conservation and restoration of microbial communities in urban areas.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Exposure to Airborne Bacteria Depends upon Vertical Stratification and Vegetation Complexity

Exposure to biodiverse aerobiomes may support human health, but it is unclear which ecological factors influence exposure. Few studies have investigated near-surface green space aerobiome dynamics, and no studies have investigated aerobiome vertical stratification in different green spaces. We used columnar sampling and next generation sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, combined with geospatial and network analyses to investigate aerobiome spatio-compositional dynamics. We show a strong effect of habitat on bacterial diversity and network complexity. We observed aerobiome vertical stratification and network complexity that was contingent on habitat type. Tree density, closer proximity, and canopy coverage associated with greater aerobiome alpha diversity. Grassland aerobiomes exhibited greater proportions of putative pathogens compared to scrub, and also stratified vertically. We provide new insights into the urban ecosystem with potential importance for public health, whereby the possibility of differential aerobiome exposures appears to depend on habitat type and height in the airspace.

ecology↗