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Abstract:
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The biological world is complex . Communities contain a multitude of interacting species , while populations contain extensive genetic variation . How much complexity must one consider to understand patterns and processes of interest ? When are species interactions and community properties shaped by evolution ? Conversely , when is evolution altered by community context ? I test these questions in a series of experiments with simple microbial communities . The first data chapter investigates the impact of competition on the evolution of phage resistance in bacteria . This work demonstrates that community context can dramatically alter the evolution of resistance to phage . Next I tested the impact of evolution on assembly of a three species community . I demonstrate that evolution can influence the content of a microbial community by altering the process of assembly . Finally , I investigated the evolutionary origin and maintenance of cross -feeding mutualisms . This work suggests that species interactions can enable novel evolutionary pathways , and that evolution can significantly increase the productivity of cross -feeding communities . Jointly these experiments suggest that consideration of the interplay between ecological and evolutionary forces can provide insight into the complexity of the natural world . |