Do the diversity criteria of conventional ecology apply to microbial ecology?.

Abstract

This review analyzes the main conceptual and methodological differences between macro-diversity (higherorganisms diversity) and micro-diversity (microbial diversity) assessment which can limit the application of conventional ecology criteria in microbial ecology. Our aim was to review the microdiversity methodology and ecological interpretation based on the following aspects: species criteria, sample representativeness, richness assessment techniques, abundance determination<br />methodology, and diversity index calculation. For this purpose, a sample of 200 papers from documents with "microbial diversity" as key word from the last 10 years (2002-2012) was selected. Due to the large discrepancy between ecological diversity criteria form macro-and microorganisms we concluded that: a) it would be advisable to standardize sampling methodology and to define diversity units; b) the use of terminology regarding conventional ecology for microbial ecology research should be revised, particularly for microbial diversity word, which could be replaced by community structure; c) being cautious and prudent on ecosystem level conclusions; and d) diversity indexes should be named different from the conventional index due to the high methodological variability and calculation criteria.