In The Field

ESA: Ecosystem on a leaf

Ecologists often study succession in communities. That is, after a disturbance like a fire or windstorm or, indeed, even volcanic eruption, plants and animals re-colonize the site in predictable patterns. But why wait for a fire, when you can just wash your hands or wait for a brand new leaf to emerge from a tree? Voila, a blank slate for microbes of various kinds to colonize—and quickly. “There has been a huge amount of work on plant community succession studied from an ecological perspective,” says Noah Fierer. “And food scientists have studied how food rots, but that’s it.” Until now. 

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