DOI: 10.5061/dryad.18931zd4q
title: Assembly of pitcher plant microbiomes 2016

description: Aim Ecological theory suggests that dispersal limitation and selection by
 climatic factors influence bacterial community assembly at a continental
 scale, yet the conditions governing the relative importance of each
 process remains unclear. The carnivorous pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea
 provides a model aquatic microecosystem to assess bacterial communities
 across the host plant's North–South range in North America. This
 study determined the relative influences of dispersal limitation and
 environmental selection on the assembly of bacterial communities
 inhabiting S. purpurea pitchers at the continental scale. Location Eastern
 United States and Canada. Time period 2016 Major taxa studied Bacteria
 inhabiting S. purpurea pitchers. Methods Pitcher morphology, fluid,
 inquilines and prey were measured, and pitcher fluid underwent DNA
 sequencing for bacterial community analysis. Null modeling of β-diversity
 provided estimates for the contributions of selection and dispersal
 limitation to community assembly, complemented by an examination of
 spatial clustering of individuals. Phylogenetic and ecological
 associations of co-occurrence network module bacteria was determined by
 assessing the phylogenetic diversity and habitat preferences of member
 taxa. Results Dispersal limitation was evident from between-site variation
 and spatial aggregation of individual bacterial taxa in the S. purpurea
 pitcher system. Selection pressure was weak across the geographic range,
 yet network module analysis indicated environmental selection within
 subgroups. A group of aquatic bacteria held traits under selection in
 warmer, wetter climates, and midge abundance was associated with selection
 for traits held by a group of saprotrophs. Processes that increased
 pitcher fluid volume weakened selection in one module, possibly by
 supporting greater bacterial dispersal. Conclusion Dispersal limitation
 governed bacterial community assembly in S. purpurea pitchers at a
 continental scale (74% of between-site comparisons) and was significantly
 greater than selection across the range. Network modules showed evidence
 for selection, demonstrating that multiple processes acted concurrently in
 bacterial community assembly at the continental scale.
description: # Assembly of pitcher plant microbiomes ## 16S DNA sequencing
 data The raw sequence reads are available on the SRA database under
 PRJNA641293. ## Description of the data and file structure The
 environmental data needed to reproduce the analyses in the manuscript are
 saved as "environmental-variables.txt". Sample_name: the name of
 the sample, corresponding with the DNA sequencing files site_id: the
 identification code for the site from which the sample was collected
 rosette_diameter_1: a measurement of the pitcher rosette (mm)
 rosette_diameter_2: a measurement of the pitcher rosette (mm)
 pitcher_length: a measurement of the length of the pitcher (mm)
 pitcher_width: a measurement of the width of the pitcher (mm) keel_width:
 a measurement of the pitcher's keel (mm) mouth_diameter: a
 measurement of the diameter of the pitcher's mouth (mm) chlorophyll:
 a measurement of the pitcher chlorophyll (SPAD units, representing the
 difference in optical density at two wavelengths) volume: a measurement of
 the volume of liquid inside the pitcher (mL) ph: the pH of the liquid
 inside the pitcher total_prey: a count of the invertebrates inside the
 pitcher that were not midges, mosquitoes, or fleshflies flesh_flies: a
 count of the flesh flies inside the pitcher total_mosquito: a count of the
 mosquitoes inside the pitcher total_midge: a count of the midges inside
 the pitcher