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Strong, long-term temporal dynamics of an ecological network
Jens M Olesen1, Constantí Stefanescu, Anna Traveset
1Institute of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. jens.olesen@biology.au.dk
Plos One
|November 30, 2011
Summary
Ecological networks show surprising stability despite dynamic species interactions. This long-term study reveals that while individual species and links change, the overall flower-visitation network remains robust.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Network Science
- Conservation Biology
Background:
- Ecological networks are crucial for ecosystem function, influencing diversity and stability.
- Current research often treats ecological networks as static, limiting understanding of their response to environmental changes.
- Long-term dynamics are essential for comprehending ecosystem resilience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term (12-year) dynamics of a flower-visitation network.
- To analyze temporal stability and species turnover in ecological networks.
- To understand how species persistence and linkage levels contribute to network stability.
Main Methods:
- Studied a 12-year flower-visitation network of butterflies and nectar plants.
- Analyzed global network properties (species number, links, connectance) over time.
- Quantified species and link temporal dynamics, persistence, and linkage levels.
Main Results:
- Global network properties were temporally stable, but individual species and links exhibited significant dynamics.
- Species showed bimodal temporal persistence (sporadic vs. stable).
- Specialists had variable persistence, while stable species had variable linkage levels; link turnover occurred via species turnover or rewiring.
Conclusions:
- Ecological networks can exhibit global stability despite local instability and high internal dynamics.
- The phenomenon of global stability-local instability is a key feature of ecological networks.
- Understanding these dynamics is vital for predicting ecosystem responses to disturbances like climate change.
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