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Emergence of structural patterns in neutral trophic networks
Elsa Canard1, Nicolas Mouquet, Lucile Marescot
1Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, Université Montpellier 2, Montpellier, France. elsa.canard@univ-montp2.fr
Plos One
|August 18, 2012
Summary
A new neutral model for predator-prey interactions reveals that species abundance distributions shape ecological networks. This neutral theory complements niche-based approaches, explaining network structures like connectance and nestedness.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Theoretical Ecology
- Network Theory
Background:
- Ecological interaction networks exhibit complex structures, historically explained by niche-mediated processes.
- An emerging consensus suggests both niche and neutral mechanisms co-determine community structures.
- A comprehensive neutral theory for interaction networks is currently lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and analyze a neutral model for predator-prey interactions.
- To investigate the structural characteristics of interaction networks generated by neutral processes.
- To compare neutral network structures with empirical ecological networks.
Main Methods:
- Development of a neutral model simulating predator-prey interactions.
- Analysis of structural properties of simulated interaction networks.
- Comparison of simulated network metrics (connectance, complexity-diversity, nestedness, modularity) with empirical data.
Main Results:
- Neutral networks exhibit connectance and complexity-diversity relationships similar to empirical bipartite networks.
- Simulated networks show high nestedness and low modularity, consistent with empirical antagonist bipartite networks.
- Neutral processes generate 'neutral forbidden links' driven by abundance distributions and low interaction probabilities for rare species.
Conclusions:
- Neutral processes, alongside niche-based mechanisms, are crucial for structuring ecological networks.
- The proposed neutral model provides a framework for understanding network organization from stochastic processes.
- Neutral trophic networks represent a key component in the continuum from niche to purely stochastic community organization theories.
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