Baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a well-studied model system in genetics and molecular biology. It is also a promising system for experimental ecology, evolution, and epidemiology, and is very important in the fermentation industry. The large amount of information generated by studies using this organism cannot be fully exploited until sufficient ecological data is gathered. Only when the natural environment of S. cerevisiae is well characterized can research using this yeast as a model system be put into context. The lack of information about the natural environment of S. cerevisiae is what prompted this work. First, I review the current available data on the ecology and evolution of S. cerevisiae and its sister species (the sensu stricto species complex). I then report results from fieldwork in an old growth forest. Finally, I report a community ecology experiment carried out using three naturally coexisting yeasts from this forest.

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