Interaction network structures in competitive ecosystems
David A Kessler1, Nadav M Shnerb1
1Bar-Ilan University, Department of Physics, Ramat-Gan IL52900, Israel.
Physical Review. E
|April 18, 2025
Summary
Local communities assemble from regional species pools, forming stable "cliques." Symmetric interactions yield nested networks, while asymmetric ones result in hyperuniform structures, impacting community stability and invasion resistance.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Theoretical Ecology
- Mathematical Biology
Background:
- Local community assembly is influenced by migration from regional species pools.
- Understanding the structure and stability of ecological communities is crucial.
- The generalized Lotka-Volterra equations are a standard model for ecological dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To numerically analyze local community assembly via weak migration.
- To investigate the network architectures of species 'cliques' at equilibrium.
- To determine the conditions for local community stability, including feasibility and non-invasiveness.
Main Methods:
- Numerical integration of the generalized Lotka-Volterra equations.
- Analysis of interaction matrices for symmetric and asymmetric interactions.
- Evaluation of community feasibility and resistance to invasion.
Main Results:
- Equilibrium local communities form 'cliques' with nontrivial network architectures.
- Symmetric interactions lead to nested interaction matrices, ensuring stability.
- Asymmetric interactions result in hyperuniform structures, which are feasible but invasion-prone, leading to instability.
Conclusions:
- Nestedness is essential for community stability under symmetric interactions.
- Hyperuniformity in asymmetric communities ensures feasibility but compromises invasion resistance.
- Strong asymmetric interactions destabilize local communities due to invasion susceptibility.
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