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Explore a mathematical modeling framework that examines microbiome dynamics across multiple scales in this 19-minute conference talk. Learn how metacommunity theory can be applied to model microbe interactions within environments and the exchange of microbes between different hosts or environmental patches. Discover the limitations of traditional continuous dispersion models when applied to living hosts and understand how discrete interaction intervals better represent real-world host-to-host microbial exchange. Examine a novel modeling approach that uses two distinct parameters to control interaction frequencies between hosts and the quantity of microbe exchange during each interaction event. Analyze the model's behavior through both analytical approximations and numerical experiments, gaining insights into how microbiomes substantially impact their host environments and how microbial communities spread and evolve across interconnected host populations.
