Genotypic variability enhances the reproducibility of an ecological study
Alexandru Milcu
(1, 2)
,
Ruben Puga-Freitas
(3)
,
Aaron M Ellison
(4)
,
Manuel Blouin
(5)
,
Stefan Scheu
(6)
,
Gregoire Freschet
(2)
,
Laura Rose
,
Sébastien Barot
(3)
,
Simone Cesarz
,
Nico Eisenhauer
(7)
,
Thomas Girin
(8)
,
Davide Assandri
,
Michael Bonkowski
(9)
,
Nina Buchmann
(10)
,
Olaf Butenschoen
(11)
,
Sebastien Devidal
(1)
,
Gerd Gleixner
(12)
,
Arthur Gessler
(13)
,
Agnès Gigon
(3)
,
Anna Greiner
,
Carlo Grignani
(14)
,
Amandine Hansart
(15)
,
Zachary Kayler
,
Markus Lange
,
Jean-Christophe Lata
(3)
,
Jean-François Le Galliard
(15)
,
Martin Lukac
(16)
,
Neringa Mannerheim
,
Marina Müller
,
Anne Pando
(5)
,
Paula Rotter
,
Michael Scherer-Lorenzen
(17)
,
Rahme Seyhun
,
Katherine Urban-Mead
,
Alexandra Weigelt
(18)
,
Laura Zavattaro
,
Jacques Roy
(1)
1
Écotron Européen de Montpellier
2 CEFE - Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive
3 iEES - Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris
4 Harvard University [Cambridge]
5 Agroécologie [Dijon]
6 Georg-August-University = Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
7 Department of Forest Resources
8 IJPB - Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin
9 Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Institut of Zoology
10 Institute of Plant, Animal and Agroecosystem Sciences
11 Johann-Friedrich Blumenbach Institut für Zoologie und Anthropologie
12 MPI-BGC - Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
13 Swiss Federal Research Institute
14 Department of Agricultural, Forestry, and Food Sciences
15 CEREEP-Ecotron Ile de France (UMS 3194)
16 School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading
17 Faculty of Biology
18 Special Botany and Functional Biodiversity
2 CEFE - Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive
3 iEES - Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris
4 Harvard University [Cambridge]
5 Agroécologie [Dijon]
6 Georg-August-University = Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
7 Department of Forest Resources
8 IJPB - Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin
9 Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Institut of Zoology
10 Institute of Plant, Animal and Agroecosystem Sciences
11 Johann-Friedrich Blumenbach Institut für Zoologie und Anthropologie
12 MPI-BGC - Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
13 Swiss Federal Research Institute
14 Department of Agricultural, Forestry, and Food Sciences
15 CEREEP-Ecotron Ile de France (UMS 3194)
16 School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading
17 Faculty of Biology
18 Special Botany and Functional Biodiversity
Alexandru Milcu
- Function : Author
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- IdHAL : alexandru-milcu
- ORCID : 0000-0002-2889-1234
- IdRef : 187061696
Ruben Puga-Freitas
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 1226197
- IdHAL : ruben-puga-freitas
- ORCID : 0000-0002-8565-2475
Manuel Blouin
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 20224
- IdHAL : manuel-blouin
- ORCID : 0000-0002-3928-9070
- IdRef : 098136909
Stefan Scheu
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 920318
Gregoire Freschet
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 738287
- IdHAL : gregoire-freschet
- ORCID : 0000-0002-8830-3860
Laura Rose
- Function : Author
Simone Cesarz
- Function : Author
Thomas Girin
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 737605
- IdHAL : thomas-girin
- ORCID : 0000-0002-5738-7731
- IdRef : 073771953
Davide Assandri
- Function : Author
Nina Buchmann
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 772006
- ORCID : 0000-0003-0826-2980
- IdRef : 242539602
Arthur Gessler
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 774760
- ORCID : 0000-0002-1910-9589
Anna Greiner
- Function : Author
Zachary Kayler
- Function : Author
Markus Lange
- Function : Author
Jean-Christophe Lata
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 857288
Jean-François Le Galliard
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 175128
- IdHAL : jean-francois-le-galliard
- ORCID : 0000-0002-5965-9868
- IdRef : 081800185
Neringa Mannerheim
- Function : Author
Marina Müller
- Function : Author
Paula Rotter
- Function : Author
Rahme Seyhun
- Function : Author
Katherine Urban-Mead
- Function : Author
Laura Zavattaro
- Function : Author
Abstract
Many scientific disciplines are currently experiencing a 'reproducibility crisis' because numerous scientific findings cannot be repeated consistently. A novel but controversial hypothesis postulates that stringent levels of environmental and biotic standardization in experimental studies reduce reproducibility by amplifying the impacts of laboratory-specific environmental factors not accounted for in study designs. A corollary to this hypothesis is that a deliberate introduction of controlled systematic variability (CSV) in experimental designs may lead to increased reproducibility. To test this hypothesis, we had 14 European laboratories run a simple microcosm experiment using grass (Brachypodium distachyon L.) monocultures and grass and legume (Medicago truncatula Gaertn.) mixtures. Each laboratory introduced environmental and genotypic CSV within and among replicated microcosms established in either growth chambers (with stringent control of environmental conditions) or glasshouses (with more variable environmental conditions). The introduction of genotypic CSV led to 18% lower among-laboratory variability in growth chambers, indicating increased reproducibility, but had no significant effect in glasshouses where reproducibility was generally lower. Environmental CSV had little effect on reproducibility. Although there are multiple causes for the 'reproducibility crisis', deliberately including genetic variability may be a simple solution for increasing the reproducibility of ecological studies performed under stringently controlled environmental conditions.