Mar 5, 2026 · 16 min · 8 segments
By simulating ecological networks with microbes, researchers revealed properties that may make natural communities susceptible to invasion. The story The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an…
In a classic 1958 book on the subject, ecologist Charles Elton argued that an ecosystem with more species should be more resilient.
He wrote that in a diverse ecosystem, so many species are already divvying up the available resources that little remains for a potential interloper looking to gain a foothold.
Elton also posited that simpler food webs are more vulnerable, while more complex ones often contain predators or parasites that can control possible invaders.
Since Elton's time, ecologists have scoured forests, grasslands, lakes, and oceans to see if his predictions hold up.
Determining which of the many variables in nature allow an invasion to happen can be daunting, and deliberately introducing a new species into an existing ecosystem as an experiment is morally fraught.
And where there is good data, examples conflicting with Elton's ideas are easy to find.
Some highly diverse ecosystems do indeed resist outsiders, but others are just as easily overtaken by a new species.
In his lab, Gore has found a way to do ecological experiments that don't require years of data collection in the great outdoors or threats to existing habitats.
Instead, he and his colleagues grow communities of microbes as simplified models of their wild counterparts to develop and test ecological theories.
In a study published last year, this work led them to a new factor that could help determine when an invasive species might be successful.
When the scientists added new species to their lab-grown microbial ecosystems, they were surprised.
Contrary to Elton's prediction, invasions were more likely in diverse ecosystems than in ones with fewer species, especially when the populations of individual species rose and fell over time.
This suggested that whatever hidden mechanisms were causing the fluctuations were also making Gore's ecosystems more or less susceptible to invasion.
Jonathan Levine, an ecologist at Princeton University who wasn't involved in the research, says it's a very classic problem.
Yet Levine says no one has fully explored this question before, let alone from a powerfully combined theoretical and empirical approach.
He says the revelation that intrinsic ecosystem dynamics can affect the success of an invader is exciting and novel.
The study revealed the ecological influence of something that's hard to examine in the field, time.
Megan Lee, a microbial ecologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, says ecologists often rely on static species counts when assessing an ecosystem.
Lee says Gore's more dynamic concept of biodiversity with fluctuations offered a very nuanced approach to what a diverse community really is.
In a classic 1958 book on the subject, ecologist Charles Elton argued that an ecosystem with more species should be more resilient.
He wrote that in a diverse ecosystem, so many species are already divvying up the available resources that little remains for a potential interloper looking to gain a foothold.
Elton also posited that simpler food webs are more vulnerable, while more complex ones often contain predators or parasites that can control possible invaders.
Since Elton's time, ecologists have scoured forests, grasslands, lakes, and oceans to see if his predictions hold up.
Determining which of the many variables in nature allow an invasion to happen can be daunting, and deliberately introducing a new species into an existing ecosystem as an experiment is morally fraught.
And where there is good data, examples conflicting with Elton's ideas are easy to find.
Some highly diverse ecosystems do indeed resist outsiders, but others are just as easily overtaken by a new species.
In his lab, Gore has found a way to do ecological experiments that don't require years of data collection in the great outdoors or threats to existing habitats.
Instead, he and his colleagues grow communities of microbes as simplified models of their wild counterparts to develop and test ecological theories.
In a study published last year, this work led them to a new factor that could help determine when an invasive species might be successful.
When the scientists added new species to their lab-grown microbial ecosystems, they were surprised.
Contrary to Elton's prediction, invasions were more likely in diverse ecosystems than in ones with fewer species, especially when the populations of individual species rose and fell over time.
This suggested that whatever hidden mechanisms were causing the fluctuations were also making Gore's ecosystems more or less susceptible to invasion.
Jonathan Levine, an ecologist at Princeton University who wasn't involved in the research, says it's a very classic problem.
Yet Levine says no one has fully explored this question before, let alone from a powerfully combined theoretical and empirical approach.
He says the revelation that intrinsic ecosystem dynamics can affect the success of an invader is exciting and novel.
The study revealed the ecological influence of something that's hard to examine in the field, time.
Megan Lee, a microbial ecologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, says ecologists often rely on static species counts when assessing an ecosystem.
Lee says Gore's more dynamic concept of biodiversity with fluctuations offered a very nuanced approach to what a diverse community really is.
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