Mechanistic theory and modelling of complex food‐web dynamics in Lake Constance

Boit, Alice; Martinez, Neo D.; Williams, Richard J.; Gaedke, Ursula

doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01777.x

Cited by 161 publications

(259 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…These dynamic models predict species interactions by the body sizes of the taxa using empirically well-supported allometric scaling relationships of functional attributes such as metabolic and feeding rates with body sizes. This type of dynamical modelling is now being applied to specific systems, such as time-series data for 24 guilds of taxa in Lake Constance, northern Europe [36]. This marks the first time that an ecosystem model has successfully reproduced the well-resolved seasonal plankton succession of a lake, and represents an important step towards using such models to improve conservation and management decisions.…”

Section: Intervalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Food webs: reconciling the structure and function of biodiversity

Thompson

Brose

Dunne

et al. 2012

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

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The global biodiversity crisis concerns not only unprecedented loss of species within communities, but also related consequences for ecosystem function. Community ecology focuses on patterns of species richness and community composition, whereas ecosystem ecology focuses on fluxes of energy and materials. Food webs provide a quantitative framework to combine these approaches and unify the study of biodiversity and ecosystem function. We summarise the progression of foodweb ecology and the challenges in using the food-web approach. We identify five areas of research where these advances can continue, and be applied to global challenges. Finally, we describe what data are needed in the next generation of food-web studies to reconcile the structure and function of biodiversity.Reconciling the study of biodiversity and ecosystem function We are experiencing two interrelated global ecological crises. One is in biodiversity, with unprecedented rates of species loss across all major ecosystems, combined with greatly accelerated biotic exchange between landmasses [1]. Consequently, spatial and temporal patterns of species occurrence are being fundamentally altered by extinction and invasion. The second crisis concerns the regulation of ecological processes and the ecosystem services they provide. Processes such as primary production and nutrient cycling have been severely altered by human activities [1].Our understanding of biodiversity comes largely from a sound theoretical and empirical basis provided by community ecology, including core concepts such as niche segregation [2] and Island Biogeography [3,4]. Early studies of individual species' habitat preferences and physiological tolerances have been complemented by studies of interspecific interactions from field surveys and experiments. Applications such as conservation management depend largely on mapping of community patterns and studies of habitat occupancy and preferences. More recently, habitat models have been applied, and the advent of simple and cheap molecular markers has allowed quantification of important community assembly (see Glossary) processes such as dispersal [5]. In community ecology the unit of study is the individual, population, or species, consistent with other sub-disciplines such as behavioural and population biology. Review GlossaryAssembly: the set of processes by which a food web is rebuilt after disturbance or the creation of new habitat. Bioenergetics: the flow and transformation of energy in and between living organisms and between living organisms and their environment. Cascade model: a food-web model which assumes hierarchical feeding along a single niche axis, with each species allocated a probability of feeding on taxa below it in the hierarchy. Community web: a food web intended to include all species and trophic links that occur within a defined ecological community. 'Species' in this sense might involve various degrees of aggregation or division of biological species. Compartmentalisation: the property by which one subset of sp...

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Section: Intervalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Food webs: reconciling the structure and function of biodiversity

Thompson

Brose

Dunne

et al. 2012

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Self Cite

587

500

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“…Although it has long been recognized that different kinds of organisms play important roles in the processing of energy and materials in ecosystems, existing treatments are incomplete. Most studies have focused on particular trophic levels, such as primary producers or herbivores, specific ecosystem types, such as tropical forest or pelagic marine, or single species, such as top predators or ecosystem engineers (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). Still missing is a simple mechanistic theory that can make precise, quantitative predictions based on the mechanistic relationships between traits of the organisms in the different trophic levels and whole-ecosystem properties, such as carbon flux or recycling.…”

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confidence: 99%

Metabolic theory predicts whole-ecosystem properties

Schramski

Dell

Grady

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

138

129

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Understanding the effects of individual organisms on material cycles and energy fluxes within ecosystems is central to predicting the impacts of human-caused changes on climate, land use, and biodiversity. Here we present a theory that integrates metabolic (organism-based bottom-up) and systems (ecosystem-based topdown) approaches to characterize how the metabolism of individuals affects the flows and stores of materials and energy in ecosystems. The theory predicts how the average residence time of carbon molecules, total system throughflow (TST), and amount of recycling vary with the body size and temperature of the organisms and with trophic organization. We evaluate the theory by comparing theoretical predictions with outputs of numerical models designed to simulate diverse ecosystem types and with empirical data for real ecosystems. Although residence times within different ecosystems vary by orders of magnitude-from weeks in warm pelagic oceans with minute phytoplankton producers to centuries in cold forests with large tree producers-as predicted, all ecosystems fall along a single line: residence time increases linearly with slope = 1.0 with the ratio of whole-ecosystem biomass to primary productivity (B/P). TST was affected predominantly by primary productivity and recycling by the transfer of energy from microbial decomposers to animal consumers. The theory provides a robust basis for estimating the flux and storage of energy, carbon, and other materials in terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems and for quantifying the roles of different kinds of organisms and environments at scales from local ecosystems to the biosphere. metabolic theory | systems ecology | total system throughflow | residence time | cycling I n most ecosystems, energy and materials flow through trophic networks comprised of plant primary producers, animal consumers, and microbial decomposers (Fig. 1). The individual organisms that make up these networks control the storage and flux of energy, carbon, and other materials. Consequently, a theoretical framework that can account for how different kinds of organisms and ecosystems affect fluxes and stores of energy and materials in ecosystems is central to understanding the carbon cycle of the biosphere and to predicting the impacts of humancaused changes in climate, land use, and biodiversity (1-3). Although it has long been recognized that different kinds of organisms play important roles in the processing of energy and materials in ecosystems, existing treatments are incomplete. Most studies have focused on particular trophic levels, such as primary producers or herbivores, specific ecosystem types, such as tropical forest or pelagic marine, or single species, such as top predators or ecosystem engineers (4-14). Still missing is a simple mechanistic theory that can make precise, quantitative predictions based on the mechanistic relationships between traits of the organisms in the different trophic levels and whole-ecosystem properties, such as carbon flux or recycling.Two main t...

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“…Networks depict the flow of energy and biomass throughout an ecosystem and thus can provide a link between ecosystem functioning and landscape structure. Traditionally, ecological networks have been studied at a given location to detail the structure and dynamics of specific systems (e.g., [167][168][169][170]). As a result, exploring variation in network structure has been relegated to comparing vastly different networks, collected with different methodology [171].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Interplay Between Landscape Structure and Biotic Interactions

Zarnetske

Baiser

Strecker

et al. 2017

Curr Landscape Ecol Rep

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Landscape structure and biotic interactions are closely linked. We identify five aspects of landscape structure that contribute to the co-occurrence of species and restrict or enable different types of biotic interactions: patch size and habitat amount, isolation of patches, barriers to dispersal and movement, persistence of landscape structure, and landscape complexity. In addition, these aspects of landscape structure influence the strength and outcome of biotic interactions. Whereas most research focuses on the effects of the abiotic environment on species and their biotic interactions, research on foundation species and ecosystem engineers demonstrates the important influence of biotic interactions on landscape structure itself, including effects on landscape complexity, extent of habitat, and the structure of landscape features. In this review, we describe ecological theories that lay the foundation for interplay between landscape structure and biotic interactions, and summarize these connections across an array of interacting species in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial systems. We end with suggestions for integrating the fields of landscape ecology and community ecology to better understand the connections between landscape structure and biotic interactions and better predict their dynamics in light of global change.

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Mechanistic theory and modelling of complex food‐web dynamics in Lake Constance

Cited by 161 publications

References 52 publications

Food webs: reconciling the structure and function of biodiversity

Food webs: reconciling the structure and function of biodiversity

Metabolic theory predicts whole-ecosystem properties

The Interplay Between Landscape Structure and Biotic Interactions

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