Scientists in Canada, the United States and Europe are looking to rewrite the textbook on microbial ecology, advocating a new approach to studying the most abundant form of life on Earth.
When it comes to microbe species, they argue, niche is much more important than names.
“Traditional ecology tells us species derive energy one way within an ecosystem—plant species convert light into chemical energy through photosynthesis, and animals burn organic carbon using oxygen to extract energy,” explains University of British Columbia (UBC) scientist Stilianos Louca, who led the synthesis published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.
