Spatial resolution and location impact group structure in a marine food web
Ecological processes in food webs depend on species interactions. By identifying broad-scaled interaction patterns, important information on species ecological roles may be revealed. Here, we use the group model to examine how spatial resolution and proximity influence group structure. We examine a...
| Published in: | Ecology Letters |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Linköpings universitet, Teoretisk Biologi
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-168542 https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13567 |
| Summary: | Ecological processes in food webs depend on species interactions. By identifying broad-scaled interaction patterns, important information on species ecological roles may be revealed. Here, we use the group model to examine how spatial resolution and proximity influence group structure. We examine a data set from the Barents Sea, with food webs described for both the whole region and 25 subregions. We test how the group structure in the networks differ comparing (1) the regional metaweb to subregions and (2) subregion to subregion. We find that more than half the species in the metaweb change groups when compared to subregions. Between subregions, networks with similar group structure are spatially related. Interestingly, although species overlap is important for similarity in group structure, there are notable exceptions. Our results highlight that species ecological roles vary depending on fine-scaled differences in the patterns of interactions, and that local network characteristics are important to consider. Funding Agencies|Swedish Research CouncilSwedish Research Council [2016-04919] |
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