Year: 2008
Type: review
Abstract: 1. A fundamental goal of ecological network research is to understand how the complexity observed in nature can persist and how this affects ecosystem functioning. This is essential for us to be able to predict, and eventually mitigate, the consequences of increasing environmental perturbations such as habitat loss, climate change, and invasions of exotic species. 2. Ecological networks can be subdivided into three broad types: 'traditional' food webs, mutualistic networks and host-parasitoid networks. There is a recent trend towards cross-comparisons among network types and also to take a more mechanistic, as opposed to phenomenological, perspective. For example, analysis of network configurations, such as compartments, allows us to explore the role of co-evolution in structuring mutualistic networks and host-parasitoid networks, and of body size in food webs. 3. Research into ecological networks has recently undergone a renaissance, leading to the production of a new catalogue of evermore complete, taxonomically resolved, and quantitative data. Novel topological patterns have been unearthed and it is increasingly evident that it is the distribution of interaction strengths and the configuration of complexity, rather than just its magnitude, that governs network stability and structure. 4. Another significant advance is the growing recognition of the importance of individual traits and behaviour: interactions, after all, occur between individuals. The new generation of high-quality networks is now enabling us to move away from describing networks based on species-averaged data and to start exploring patterns based on individuals. Such refinements will enable us to address more general ecological questions relating to foraging theory and the recent metabolic theory of ecology. 5. We conclude by suggesting a number of 'dead ends' and 'fruitful avenues' for future research into ecological networks.
Source: Journal of Animal Ecology
Institutions: Queen Mary University of London, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Estación Biológica de Doñana, University of Würzburg, University of Leeds, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, University of Birmingham, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, HR Wallingford, University of York, Aarhus University, Imperial College London, University of Sheffield
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2132453181