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Does evolution design robust food webs?
B Girardot1, M Gauduchon1, F Ménard1
1Aix Marseille University, Univ Toulon, CNRS, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography, MIO, UM110 Marseille, France.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|July 2, 2020
Summary
Evolutionary history shapes ecological food web robustness. Past environmental conditions, not just complexity, critically influence how ecosystems resist perturbations, with highly connected webs being surprisingly fragile.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Theoretical Ecology
Background:
- Ecological robustness studies often use random food web models.
- The role of evolutionary history in food web stability is under-explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate if the evolutionary history of food webs impacts their robustness to perturbations.
- Examine how environmental conditions during evolution shape food web structure and stability.
Main Methods:
- Developed a community evolution model to generate trophic networks.
- Varied environmental energy supply (richness) during species adaptation and diversification.
- Assessed food web robustness by simulating responses to environmental changes and compared with empirical data.
Main Results:
- Environmental richness significantly structured food web evolution.
- Past environmental conditions critically influenced current food web robustness.
- Highly connected food webs were less robust to sharp decreases in environmental energy.
Conclusions:
- Evolutionary history and environmental context are crucial for food web robustness.
- Food web 'adaptation' is generally limited, except for diverse flux properties.
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