net.raster: Interaction network metrics for raster data
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The interaction among species from different trophic levels is essential for ecosystem functioning and the use of bipartite networks may improve our understanding of multiple ecological processes, such as seed dispersal, pollination, and predation. Still, we are just paving ways to better understand spatial variation and macroecological aspects of interaction diversity. Here we introduce net.raster, an R package to calculate network and species-level metrics using rasterized presence-absence data and bipartite interaction networks as input, aiming to place species interaction studies into a spatial perspective. First, we focus on the spatialization of the functions and arguments from the bipartite R package using the terra package. Then, we enhance the visualisation of interaction patterns across space by allowing a raster layer in addition to species distribution models (SDM): species interactions. To date, all available packages that compute mutualistic network metrics rely on matrices, or edge lists and network graphs derived from them. The net.raster package allows users to calculate network topography indices using: a) the entire web, b) selecting the lower or upper level of each group, or c) selecting each species, choosing both levels or one level of interest at a time. Some indices calculated by net.raster are connectance, interaction evenness, web specialisation (H2’), and degree distribution, besides species-level metrics such as species strength, betweenness and closeness centralities, and species specialisation (d’). The net.raster package also calculates, in different ways, two important network-level structural measures: nestedness and modularity. Thus, the spatial processing and visualisation of fundamental bipartite networks provided by net.raster may fill a current gap in macroecological and biogeographical research and enable the understanding of the spatial variation of interaction networks. It also may open other questions in the macroecological and biogeographical study of networks, inspiring new insights into the conservation of important ecosystem services, such as seed dispersal and pollination.
Source: Ecological Informatics
Institution: Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz
Language: English
Topic: Plant and animal studies
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,200
OpenAlex ID: W4405686181