INS 24 - Microbes as Tools to Solve Ecological Problems for All

Organizer(s)

• AR

  Adriana Romero-Olivares

  Principle Investigator
  New Mexico State University
  Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States

Co-Organizer(s)

• MM

  Mario Muscarella

  Assistant Professor of Microbiology
  University of Alaska Fairbanks
  Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
• NZ

  Naupaka Zimmerman

  Associate Professor
  University of San Francisco
  San Francisco, California, United States

While the field of microbial ecology is one of the most recently developed subdisciplines within ecological science, technological advances coupled with the importance and ubiquity of microbes have contributed to the explosion of research in this area over the past two decades. We are now moving towards a field where basic and applied science co-exist. The discipline has transitioned from discovery-based characterization of biodiversity to the application of accumulated scientific understanding towards designing solutions to ongoing societal, health, and environmental challenges. This session is organized by the Microbial Ecology Section, and our purpose is to focus on the crucial role microbes play in the development of holistic solutions to ecological problems and questions. In this session, we will highlight the interdisciplinary nature of microbial ecological research by exploring topics related to the use of microbial ecology concepts in sustainable aquaculture, in restoration of dryland ecosystems, in ecosystems under global climate change, and in resilient and sustainable agricultural systems, among others. We will showcase a diversity of topics related to the role of microbes as a component of solutions to ecological problems and to open up conversations among microbial and non-microbial ecologists. Ultimately, our goal is to create a more collaborative discipline that incorporates ecologists across sectors, that engages decision makers, and that educates and disseminates basic and applied microbial ecology to the public at large.

Presentations:

• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

  Belowground functional traits in dryland ecological restoration
  

  Presenting Author: Albert Barberán – University of Arizona
• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

  CANCELLED - Restoring mycorrhizas
  

  Presenting Author: Bala Chaudhary, Ph.D. – Dartmouth University
• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

  CANCELLED - The plant microbiome in drylands: solutions for a planet under global warming
  

  Presenting Author: Laila P. Partida-Martinez – CINVESTAV-UI

  Co-author: David Alfonso Camarena-Pozos – Cinvestav-UI, Ciatec

  Co-author: Raul Alcalde-Vazquez – Cinvestav-UI

  Co-author: Victor Manuel Flores-Nunez – Cinvestav-UI, Christian Albert University of Kiel

  Co-author: Jose Daniel Chavez-Gonzalez – Cinvestav-UI

  Co-author: Irving Uriel Merino-Espinoza – Cinvestav-UI
• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

  Can fungi be a tool to create multifunctional agricultural landscapes?
  

  Presenting Author: Aidee Guzman, PhD – University of California, Irvine

  Co-author: Kathleen K. Treseder – University of California Irvine
• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

  Microbes and their genes as solutions for crop protection from insects
  

  Presenting Author: Pacifica Sommers – Bayer Crop Sciences
• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

  Detecting generalizable patterns in large-scale microbiome datasets for enhanced prediction of carbon dynamics across scales
  

  Presenting Author: Katherine L. Shek, Ph.D. – University of New Hampshire

  Co-author: Adam Wymore, Ph.D. – University of new hampshire
• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

  Scallop microbes and sustainable aquaculture: host-microbe dynamics situated in environmental and social context
  

  Presenting Author: Suzanne L. Ishaq, PhD – University of Maine
• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

  Discussion (until session ends)