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Basic Methods for the Study of Reproductive Ecology of Fish in Aquaria
Published on: July 20, 2017
Deciphering the Interdependence between Ecological and Evolutionary Networks
Carlos J Melián1, Blake Matthews2, Cecilia S de Andreazzi3
1Fish Ecology and Evolution Department, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Biological systems consist of elements that interact within and across hierarchical levels. For example, interactions among genes determine traits of individuals, competitive and cooperative interactions among individuals influence population dynamics, and interactions among species affect the dynamics of communities and ecosystem processes. Such systems can be represented as hierarchical networks, but can have complex dynamics when interdependencies among levels of the hierarchy occur. We propose integrating ecological and evolutionary processes in hierarchical networks to explore interdependencies in biological systems. We connect gene networks underlying predator-prey trait distributions to food webs. Our approach addresses longstanding questions about how complex traits and intraspecific trait variation affect the interdependencies among biological levels and the stability of meta-ecosystems.
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