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Genotypic variability enhances the reproducibility of an ecological study

View ORCID ProfileAlexandru Milcu, Ruben Puga-Freitas, Aaron M Ellison, Manuel Blouin, Stefan Scheu, Thomas Girin, Gregoire Frechet, Laura Rose, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Sebastien Barot, Jean-Christophe Lata, Simone Cesarz, Nico Eisenhauer, Agnes Gigon, Alexandra Weigelt, Amandine Hansart, Anna Greiner, Anne Pando, Arthur Gessler, Carlo Grignani, Davide Assandri, Gerd Gleixner, Jean-Francois Le Galliard, Katherine Urban-Mead, Laura Zavattaro, Marina E.H. Muller, Markus Lange, Martin Lukac, Michael Bonkowski, Neringa Mannerheim, Nina Buchnann, Olaf Butenschoen, Paula Rotter, Rahme Seyhun, Sebastien Devidal, Zachary Kayler, Jacques Roy
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/080119
Alexandru Milcu
CNRS;
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  • ORCID record for Alexandru Milcu
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Ruben Puga-Freitas
Institut des Sciences de l'Ecologie et de l'Environnement de Paris;
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Aaron M Ellison
Harvard University;
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Manuel Blouin
IRD;
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Stefan Scheu
Georg August University Gottingen;
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Thomas Girin
INRA;
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Gregoire Frechet
CNRS;
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Laura Rose
University of Freiburg;
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Michael Scherer-Lorenzen
University of Freiburg;
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Sebastien Barot
IRD;
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Jean-Christophe Lata
ENS;
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Simone Cesarz
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research;
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Nico Eisenhauer
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research;
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Agnes Gigon
Institut des Sciences de l'Ecologie et de l'Environnement de Paris;
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Alexandra Weigelt
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research;
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Amandine Hansart
ENS;
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Anna Greiner
University of Freiburg;
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Anne Pando
IRD;
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Arthur Gessler
ZALF;
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Carlo Grignani
University of Turin;
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Davide Assandri
University of Turin;
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Gerd Gleixner
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry;
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Jean-Francois Le Galliard
Institut des Sciences de l'Ecologie et de l'Environnement de Paris;
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Katherine Urban-Mead
CNRS;
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Laura Zavattaro
University of Turin;
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Marina E.H. Muller
ZALF;
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Markus Lange
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry;
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Martin Lukac
University of Reading;
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Michael Bonkowski
University of Cologne;
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Neringa Mannerheim
ETH Zurich;
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Nina Buchnann
ETH Zurich;
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Olaf Butenschoen
Senckenberg Biodiversitat und Klima Forschungszentrum
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Paula Rotter
University of Freiburg;
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Rahme Seyhun
University of Reading;
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Sebastien Devidal
CNRS;
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Zachary Kayler
ZALF;
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Jacques Roy
CNRS;
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Abstract

Many scientific disciplines currently are 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 reduces reproducibility by amplifying impacts of lab-specific environmental factors not accounted for in study designs. A corollary to this hypothesis is that the deliberate introduction of controlled systematic variability (CSV) in experimental designs can increase reproducibility. We tested this hypothesis using a multi-laboratory microcosm study in which the same ecological experiment was repeated in 14 laboratories across Europe. 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 lower among-laboratory variability in growth chambers, indicating increased reproducibility, but had no significant effect in glasshouses where reproducibility also was lower. Environmental CSV had little effect on reproducibility. Although there are multiple causes for the reproducibility crisis, deliberately including genetic variation may be a simple solution for increasing the reproducibility of ecological studies performed in controlled environments.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted August 08, 2017.
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Genotypic variability enhances the reproducibility of an ecological study
Alexandru Milcu, Ruben Puga-Freitas, Aaron M Ellison, Manuel Blouin, Stefan Scheu, Thomas Girin, Gregoire Frechet, Laura Rose, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Sebastien Barot, Jean-Christophe Lata, Simone Cesarz, Nico Eisenhauer, Agnes Gigon, Alexandra Weigelt, Amandine Hansart, Anna Greiner, Anne Pando, Arthur Gessler, Carlo Grignani, Davide Assandri, Gerd Gleixner, Jean-Francois Le Galliard, Katherine Urban-Mead, Laura Zavattaro, Marina E.H. Muller, Markus Lange, Martin Lukac, Michael Bonkowski, Neringa Mannerheim, Nina Buchnann, Olaf Butenschoen, Paula Rotter, Rahme Seyhun, Sebastien Devidal, Zachary Kayler, Jacques Roy
bioRxiv 080119; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/080119
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Genotypic variability enhances the reproducibility of an ecological study
Alexandru Milcu, Ruben Puga-Freitas, Aaron M Ellison, Manuel Blouin, Stefan Scheu, Thomas Girin, Gregoire Frechet, Laura Rose, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Sebastien Barot, Jean-Christophe Lata, Simone Cesarz, Nico Eisenhauer, Agnes Gigon, Alexandra Weigelt, Amandine Hansart, Anna Greiner, Anne Pando, Arthur Gessler, Carlo Grignani, Davide Assandri, Gerd Gleixner, Jean-Francois Le Galliard, Katherine Urban-Mead, Laura Zavattaro, Marina E.H. Muller, Markus Lange, Martin Lukac, Michael Bonkowski, Neringa Mannerheim, Nina Buchnann, Olaf Butenschoen, Paula Rotter, Rahme Seyhun, Sebastien Devidal, Zachary Kayler, Jacques Roy
bioRxiv 080119; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/080119

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