Interaction strengths in balanced carbon cycles and the absence of a relation between ecosystem complexity and stability
Abstract The strength of interactions is crucial to the stability of ecological networks. However, the patterns of interaction strengths in mathematical models of ecosystems have not yet been based upon independent observations of balanced material fluxes. Here we analyse two Antarctic ecosystems fo...
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crwiley:10.1111/ele.12266 2024-09-15T17:40:15+00:00 Interaction strengths in balanced carbon cycles and the absence of a relation between ecosystem complexity and stability Neutel, Anje‐Margriet Thorne, Michael A.S. Adler, Fredrick 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.12266 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fele.12266 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ele.12266 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/ele.12266 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Ecology Letters volume 17, issue 6, page 651-661 ISSN 1461-023X 1461-0248 journal-article 2014 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12266 2024-08-06T04:19:58Z Abstract The strength of interactions is crucial to the stability of ecological networks. However, the patterns of interaction strengths in mathematical models of ecosystems have not yet been based upon independent observations of balanced material fluxes. Here we analyse two Antarctic ecosystems for which the interaction strengths are obtained: (1) directly, from independently measured material fluxes, (2) for the complete ecosystem and (3) with a close match between species and ‘trophic groups’. We analyse the role of recycling, predation and competition and find that ecosystem stability can be estimated by the strengths of the shortest positive and negative predator‐prey feedbacks in the network. We show the generality of our explanation with another 21 observed food webs, comparing random‐type parameterisations of interaction strengths with empirical ones. Our results show how functional relationships dominate over average‐network topology. They make clear that the classic complexity‐instability paradox is essentially an artificial interaction‐strength result. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Wiley Online Library Ecology Letters 17 6 651 661 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract The strength of interactions is crucial to the stability of ecological networks. However, the patterns of interaction strengths in mathematical models of ecosystems have not yet been based upon independent observations of balanced material fluxes. Here we analyse two Antarctic ecosystems for which the interaction strengths are obtained: (1) directly, from independently measured material fluxes, (2) for the complete ecosystem and (3) with a close match between species and ‘trophic groups’. We analyse the role of recycling, predation and competition and find that ecosystem stability can be estimated by the strengths of the shortest positive and negative predator‐prey feedbacks in the network. We show the generality of our explanation with another 21 observed food webs, comparing random‐type parameterisations of interaction strengths with empirical ones. Our results show how functional relationships dominate over average‐network topology. They make clear that the classic complexity‐instability paradox is essentially an artificial interaction‐strength result. |
author2 |
Adler, Fredrick |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Neutel, Anje‐Margriet Thorne, Michael A.S. |
spellingShingle |
Neutel, Anje‐Margriet Thorne, Michael A.S. Interaction strengths in balanced carbon cycles and the absence of a relation between ecosystem complexity and stability |
author_facet |
Neutel, Anje‐Margriet Thorne, Michael A.S. |
author_sort |
Neutel, Anje‐Margriet |
title |
Interaction strengths in balanced carbon cycles and the absence of a relation between ecosystem complexity and stability |
title_short |
Interaction strengths in balanced carbon cycles and the absence of a relation between ecosystem complexity and stability |
title_full |
Interaction strengths in balanced carbon cycles and the absence of a relation between ecosystem complexity and stability |
title_fullStr |
Interaction strengths in balanced carbon cycles and the absence of a relation between ecosystem complexity and stability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Interaction strengths in balanced carbon cycles and the absence of a relation between ecosystem complexity and stability |
title_sort |
interaction strengths in balanced carbon cycles and the absence of a relation between ecosystem complexity and stability |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.12266 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fele.12266 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ele.12266 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/ele.12266 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic |
op_source |
Ecology Letters volume 17, issue 6, page 651-661 ISSN 1461-023X 1461-0248 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12266 |
container_title |
Ecology Letters |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
651 |
op_container_end_page |
661 |
_version_ |
1810485876708343808 |