Ecological plasticity governs ecosystem services in multilayer networks.

Area of Science:

• Agroecology
• Ecosystem Services
• Community Ecology

Background:

• Agriculture faces pressure to meet sustainable development goals for biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Ecosystem services are often driven by key species, and community composition changes can have complex effects.
• Assessing individual services overlooks co-variance and how effects propagate through ecosystems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze multilayer networks of weed seed regulation and gastropod mollusc predation by carabid beetles.
• To investigate how species interactions and community changes affect linked ecosystem services.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 374 agricultural multilayer networks.
• Quantification of interaction frequencies between carabid beetles, weed seeds, and gastropod molluscs.
• Examination of trophic links within herbivore and carnivore network layers.

Main Results:

• Weed seed regulation increased with herbivore predation interaction frequency.
• Weed seed regulation and herbivore interaction frequencies decreased as carabid-mollusc interaction frequencies increased.
• Link turnover in networks suggests carabid behavioral plasticity affecting ecosystem services.

Conclusions:

• Ecosystem services are governed by ecological plasticity within complex, multi-layer networks.
• Sustainable agricultural management must consider these network dynamics beyond single-service approaches.
• Understanding species' roles in multiple services is crucial for effective agroecosystem management.