Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 335, Issue 6075, Pages 1489-1492Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1216556
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MICINN), Spain [FIS2010-18639]
- James S. McDonnell Foundation
- European Union [PIRG-GA-2010-268342]
- W. M. Keck Foundation
- European Research Council under the European Community [FP7/2007-2013, 268543]
- European Research Council (ERC) [268543] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Studies of ecological networks (the web of interactions between species in a community) demonstrate an intricate link between a community's structure and its long-term viability. It remains unclear, however, how much a community's persistence depends on the identities of the species present, or how much the role played by each species varies as a function of the community in which it is found. We measured species' roles by studying how species are embedded within the overall network and the subsequent dynamic implications. Using data from 32 empirical food webs, we find that species' roles and dynamic importance are inherent species attributes and can be extrapolated across communities on the basis of taxonomic classification alone. Our results illustrate the variability of roles across species and communities and the relative importance of distinct species groups when attempting to conserve ecological communities.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available