Microbial atlases and biogeography: charting mechanisms, diversity and function across scales

Microbial communities form the foundation of all ecosystems, yet we are only beginning to assemble comprehensive atlases that capture the diversity of their members, and their functions at scale. Atlases focus at different scales, from fine-scale interactions to system, regional or global surveys. These surveys can use different technologies or methods, and map species across spatial or temporal gradients. Additionally, they uncover patterns in microbial biogeography, may reveal key drivers of ecosystem processes, and enable predictions of microbial responses to environmental change.

This session presents the efforts to chart microbial life in and/or across a variety of environments (e.g. soils, hosts, aquatic, engineered and extreme habitats) and explores advances in microbial atlas development. It will also discuss data consolidation, as our field attempts to unify diverse datasets into coherent frameworks that both expand fundamental ecological understanding, and support applied challenges such as ecosystem monitoring, restoration, and climate change. Presentations will showcase how sequencing, interdisciplinary data, functional profiling, and ecological network analysis are being applied to construct microbial atlases or investigate microbial biogeography.

Convenors
Manpreet Dhami, Landcare Research, New Zealand
Caitlin Singleton, Aalborg University, Denmark

Invited Speakers
Manpreet Dhami, Landcare Research, New Zealand
Caitlin Singleton, Aalborg University, Denmark
Leho Tedersoo, University of Tartu, Estonia
Susanna Wood, Lincoln University, New Zealand