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Origin of compartmentalization in food webs
R Guimerà1, D B Stouffer, M Sales-Pardo
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA. roger.guimera@urv.cat
Ecology
|November 10, 2010
Summary
Ecosystem resilience depends on food web structure. This study reveals that species
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Food web dynamics
- Ecosystem resilience
Background:
- Ecosystem responses to disturbances involve species interactions.
- Community resilience is linked to food web structure and compartmentalization.
- Mechanisms driving food web compartmentalization are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate definitions of food web compartments.
- To understand the ecological significance of these compartments.
- To quantify compartmentalization in empirical food webs.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of multiple definitions of ecological compartments.
- Quantification of food web compartmentalization using empirical data.
- Investigation of the relationship between species' niche organization and diet with compartmentalization.
Main Results:
- Food web compartmentalization can be explained by niche organization and species diets.
- Diet contiguity is directly linked to the degree of food web compartmentalization.
- Compartment composition provides insights into the ecological niche of species.
Conclusions:
- Species' niche organization and diets are key drivers of food web compartmentalization.
- Understanding compartmentalization helps predict ecosystem responses to perturbations.
- This research clarifies the ecological niche determination and food web fragmentation.
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