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Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Published on: March 12, 2013

Trophic coherence determines food-web stability.

Samuel Johnson¹, Virginia Domínguez-García², Luca Donetti³

¹Warwick Mathematics Institute, and Centre for Complexity Science, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom; S.Johnson.2@warwick.ac.uk.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|December 4, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Ecosystems are stable due to trophic coherence, a food web property ignored by current models. This newly identified feature, unlike size or complexity, predicts stability and suggests conservation opportunities.

Keywords:

May's paradox complex networks diversity–stability debate dynamical stability food webs

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Theoretical Ecology
Network Theory

Background:

Traditional ecological models predict ecosystem instability with increasing size and complexity.
A long-standing paradox questions how large, complex ecosystems maintain stability.
Previous models have overlooked key structural properties of food webs.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify the structural property responsible for ecosystem stability.
To investigate the role of trophic coherence in food web dynamics.
To develop a model that accurately predicts ecosystem stability.

Main Methods:

Statistical analysis of food web structure and linear stability.
Theoretical proof of stability for maximally coherent networks.
Development and simulation of a novel food web model incorporating trophic coherence.

Main Results:

Trophic coherence is a stronger predictor of linear stability than ecosystem size or complexity.
Maximally coherent networks with constant interaction strengths are proven to be linearly stable.
The proposed model accurately reproduces ecosystem stability and structural features, showing stability can increase with size and complexity.

Conclusions:

Trophic coherence is a critical, previously overlooked factor in ecosystem stability.
This finding offers a potential resolution to May's paradox regarding ecosystem stability.
Understanding trophic coherence has significant implications for biodiversity conservation strategies.