The dimensionality of ecological networks
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The dimensionality of ecological networks. / Eklöf, Anna; Jacob, Ute; Kopp, Jason; Bosch, Jordi; Castro-Urgal, Rocío; Chacoff, Natacha P.; Dalsgaard, Bo; Sassi, Claudio de ; Galetti, Mauro; Guimarães, Paulo R.; Lomáscolo, Silvia Beatriz; González, Ana M. Martín; Pizo, Marco Aurelio; Rader, Romina; Rodrigo, Anselm; Tylianakis, Jason M.; Vázquez, Diego P.; Allesina, Stefano.
I: Ecology Letters, Bind 16, Nr. 5, 2013, s. 577-583.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The dimensionality of ecological networks
AU - Eklöf, Anna
AU - Jacob, Ute
AU - Kopp, Jason
AU - Bosch, Jordi
AU - Castro-Urgal, Rocío
AU - Chacoff, Natacha P.
AU - Dalsgaard, Bo
AU - Sassi, Claudio de
AU - Galetti, Mauro
AU - Guimarães, Paulo R.
AU - Lomáscolo, Silvia Beatriz
AU - González, Ana M. Martín
AU - Pizo, Marco Aurelio
AU - Rader, Romina
AU - Rodrigo, Anselm
AU - Tylianakis, Jason M.
AU - Vázquez, Diego P.
AU - Allesina, Stefano
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - How many dimensions (trait-axes) are required to predict whether two species interact? This unanswered question originated with the idea of ecological niches, and yet bears relevance today for understanding what determines network structure. Here, we analyse a set of 200 ecological networks, including food webs, antagonistic and mutualistic networks, and find that the number of dimensions needed to completely explain all interactions is small (<10), with model selection favouring less than five. Using 18 high-quality webs including several species traits, we identify which traits contribute the most to explaining network structure. We show that accounting for a few traits dramatically improves our understanding of the structure of ecological networks. Matching traits for resources and consumers, for example, fruit size and bill gape, are the most successful combinations. These results link ecologically important species attributes to large-scale community structure.
AB - How many dimensions (trait-axes) are required to predict whether two species interact? This unanswered question originated with the idea of ecological niches, and yet bears relevance today for understanding what determines network structure. Here, we analyse a set of 200 ecological networks, including food webs, antagonistic and mutualistic networks, and find that the number of dimensions needed to completely explain all interactions is small (<10), with model selection favouring less than five. Using 18 high-quality webs including several species traits, we identify which traits contribute the most to explaining network structure. We show that accounting for a few traits dramatically improves our understanding of the structure of ecological networks. Matching traits for resources and consumers, for example, fruit size and bill gape, are the most successful combinations. These results link ecologically important species attributes to large-scale community structure.
U2 - 10.1111/ele.12081
DO - 10.1111/ele.12081
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84876713348
VL - 16
SP - 577
EP - 583
JO - Ecology Letters
JF - Ecology Letters
SN - 1461-023X
IS - 5
ER -
ID: 45712276