Revealing multi-scale community dynamics supporting species coexistence in threatened oceanic liverwort-rich communities

The microbial communities living in and on plants (microbiomes) are key drivers of plant success and community composition. This interaction between macro- and micro-communities is rarely incorporated into ecological theories about species coexistence, but the advancement of sequencing technologies now opens up opportunities to build experimental models for these complex feedbacks. The small size and haploid dominance of bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) make them prime candidates for tractable, compact models of plant community microbiome dynamics. LIVCOM focuses on understanding the diversity of rare and threatened oceanic liverwort-rich communities (OLCs) and developing resources to use them as just such a model. LIVCOM integrates ecological, phylogeographic, and genomic methods to characterize the community, intraspecific, and microbial diversity of OLCs. Beyond new scientific knowledge and resource development, LIVCOM will also be able to inform conservation efforts for the rare plants found in OLCs. LIVCOM will be implemented at the Natural History Museum of the University of Oslo (UiO), with a secondment to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. LIVCOM will prepare the fellow for a career as a bryophyte microbiome expert in the European academic sector by increasing her international networks, breadth and depth of biological expertise, and intersectoral experience.