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Spatial topologies affect local food web structure and diversity in evolutionary metacommunities

Bolchoun, Lev ; Drossel, Barbara ; Allhoff, Korinna Theresa (2017)
Spatial topologies affect local food web structure and diversity in evolutionary metacommunities.
In: Scientific Reports, 2017, (1)
Article, Secondary publication

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Item Type: Article
Type of entry: Secondary publication
Title: Spatial topologies affect local food web structure and diversity in evolutionary metacommunities
Language: English
Date: 12 May 2017
Place of Publication: Darmstadt
Year of primary publication: 2017
Publisher: Springer Nature
Journal or Publication Title: Scientific Reports
Issue Number: 1
Series Volume: 7
Corresponding Links:
Origin: Secondary publication via sponsored Golden Open Access
Abstract:

An important challenge in theoretical ecology is to better predict ecological responses to environmental change, and in particular to spatial changes such as habitat fragmentation. Classical food-web models have focused on purely ecological predictions, without taking adaptation or evolution of species traits into account. We address this issue using an eco-evolutionary model, which is based on body masses and diets as the key traits that determine metabolic rates and trophic interactions. The model implements evolution by the introduction of new morphs that are related to the existing ones, so that the network structure itself evolves in a self-organized manner. We consider the coupling and decoupling of habitats in multi-trophic metacommunities consisting of 2 or 4 habitats. Our model thus integrates metacommunity models, which describe ecosystems as networks of networks, with large community evolution models. We find that rescue effects and source-sink effects occur within coupled habitats, which have the potential to change local selection pressures so that the local food web structure shows a fingerprint of its spatial conditions. Within our model system, we observe that habitat coupling increases the lifetimes of top predators and promotes local biodiversity.

URN: urn:nbn:de:tuda-tuprints-62257
Classification DDC: 500 Science and mathematics > 530 Physics
Divisions: 05 Department of Physics > Institute for condensed matter physics (2021 merged in Institute for Condensed Matter Physics)
Date Deposited: 12 May 2017 10:41
Last Modified: 04 Jan 2024 10:29
URI: https://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/id/eprint/6225
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