Microbial Biogeography

Microbial biogeography aims to characterize the distribution of micro‐organisms over space and time while elucidating the relative importance of the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that lead to those distributions. As for the biogeography of plants and animals, the processes of dispersal and selection by environmental conditions are central to the formation of variation in the spatial and temporal distribution of microbes. Recent molecular genetic evidence has shown that microbial communities vary by habitat, physical or chemical conditions, and seasons, indicating that selection is indeed important in shaping the biogeography of microbes. The state of the art in microbial biogeography lies in further unraveling the importance of dispersal and the conditions under which different processes are more likely to influence microbial community composition. Microbial biogeography provides a useful framework for understanding the overall ecology of micro‐organisms and the factors that control their functions in the natural environment.