Site effects on wildlife enteric bacterial diversity: you are where you eat?
type: CreativeWork
description: The study of microbial biogeography has made vast strides in recent years due, in part, to advances in the technological capacity to document microscopic biodiversity at the community, population and genomic levels. In this dissertation, we apply a combination of molecular and cultivation approaches to the study of enteric microbial diversity in a unique system of sister iguanid species, the Galápagos land and marine iguanas (Conolophus spp. and Amblyrhynchus subcristatus, respectively). We explored the spatial diversity of enteric bacteria in these two species at multiple levels, from communities to genetic traits. The unique host population history and geography of this island chain informed hypotheses about expected biogeographical patterns and the underlying processes that shape microbial diversity in this system. In Chapter 1, we reviewed current understanding of microbial biogeography and explored how incorporation of such ecological theory might benefit understanding of enteric microbial community structure and function across space and time. Chapter 2 explored the spatial community diversity of marine and land iguana enteric communities using a molecular approach based on 454 pyrosequencing. Firstly, we demonstrated that while host species was the strongest force shaping these communities, within a host species, geographical proximity also determined overlap in community composition at the genus level. In addition, we found that the degree of contact among host species can produce distinct local effects in community richness and composition, especially when host species have amplified opportunities for microbial exchange such as higher population densities or limited habitat area. Next in Chapter 3, we explored taxonomically finer-scale diversity patterns among marine iguana populations for the rich enteric genus Clostridium. In contrast to the expectation that each host population should have relatively distinct Clostridium communities, we found a surprisin…
abstract: The study of microbial biogeography has made vast strides in recent years due, in part, to advances in the technological capacity to document microscopic biodiversity at the community, population and genomic levels. In this dissertation, we apply a combination of molecular and cultivation approaches to the study of enteric microbial diversity in a unique system of sister iguanid species, the Galápagos land and marine iguanas (Conolophus spp. and Amblyrhynchus subcristatus, respectively). We explored the spatial diversity of enteric bacteria in these two species at multiple levels, from communities to genetic traits. The unique host population history and geography of this island chain informed hypotheses about expected biogeographical patterns and the underlying processes that shape microbial diversity in this system. In Chapter 1, we reviewed current understanding of microbial biogeography and explored how incorporation of such ecological theory might benefit understanding of enteric microbial community structure and function across space and time. Chapter 2 explored the spatial community diversity of marine and land iguana enteric communities using a molecular approach based on 454 pyrosequencing. Firstly, we demonstrated that while host species was the strongest force shaping these communities, within a host species, geographical proximity also determined overlap in community composition at the genus level. In addition, we found that the degree of contact among host species can produce distinct local effects in community richness and composition, especially when host species have amplified opportunities for microbial exchange such as higher population densities or limited habitat area. Next in Chapter 3, we explored taxonomically finer-scale diversity patterns among marine iguana populations for the rich enteric genus Clostridium. In contrast to the expectation that each host population should have relatively distinct Clostridium communities, we found a surprisin…
author: Lankau, Emily R.
language: en
keywords: Galápagos Islands, Microbial Ecology, Iguana, Biogeography, Gastrointestinal Microbes, Antibiotic Resistance
date published: 2011-05-25T15:02:05Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:25:23Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/24275