Aerobiology : from Micrography to Aeroecology

Aerobiology is the science of the infinitely small (microorganisms) in the infinitely big (the atmosphere), both qualitatively (identification) and quantitatively (counting).  All aerobiological researches are bound to the aerobiological pathway: emission - dispersal - deposition, that allows aerobiology to be permeable to any temporal or spatial scale changes. Aerobiology is not naturally seen as an ecological science, but rather as an auxiliary science of health sciences or agricultural sciences to understand the etiology of respiratory diseases or the life cycle of plant. The ecological aspect of Aerobiology is often restricted to the characterization of emission sources of airborne particles (micrography). However, because it focuses on movement, Aerobiology is at the heart of the most important ecological issues. Indeed, the "static" status of traditional ecological character - which was to understand the functioning of ecosystems - is gradually replaced by a "dynamic" ecology that focuses on the major issues of the twenty-first century, including climate change, biological invasions and conservation of biodiversity. This is not a paradigm shift for Aerobiology, but only a change of perspective that can be deduced from the same methodologies and sampling protocols. Indeed, the "dispersal" phase of the aerobiological trajectory phase is often preceived only through its physical dimension: a path (either measured or modeled) in a three-dimensional space of a particle, a geography of movement, regardless of the ecological changes that might happen because of this movement. Aerobiology allows a prediction of the future development of communities before the appearance of any signs of change on the ground.  In other words: aerobiological studies should try to answer the following question: What is the ecological footprint of Aerobiology?

Paul Comtois

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