Article
Microbiology
Ping Guo, Cui Li, Jinxain Liu, Baofeng Chai
Summary: Microbial food webs play a crucial role in material circulation and energy flow in lake ecosystems. This study investigated the diversity and structure of protist and bacterial communities in subalpine lakes, revealing the key factors influencing the complexity and stability of microbial food webs. The research emphasizes the importance of understanding the interactions within microbial food webs for ecosystem management and predicting the ecological consequences of climate change in aquatic ecosystems.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Shipeng Nie, Junjie Zheng, Mingyu Luo, Michel Loreau, Dominique Gravel, Shaopeng Wang
Summary: The study finds that more complex ecosystems tend to be more productive, but the effects of different aspects of complexity vary. Higher species richness and/or average interaction strength increase productivity, while higher connectance often decreases it. These patterns hold not only for realized complexity, but also for simulated declines of complexity. Empirical analyses support the predictions on positive complexity-productivity relationships and negative productivity-stability relationships.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Lyle Poley, Joseph W. Baron, Tobias Galla
Summary: In the analysis of complex ecosystems, random interaction coefficients are commonly used, assuming that all species are statistically equivalent. This study relaxes this assumption by introducing hierarchical interspecies interactions into a generalized Lotka-Volterra dynamical system. In a hierarchical community, species benefit more from interactions with species lower in the hierarchy than from those higher. Using dynamic mean-field theory, it is demonstrated that a strong hierarchical structure stabilizes the ecosystem, but reduces the number and abundances of surviving species. Additionally, increased heterogeneity in the variances of interaction coefficients across hierarchy positions destabilizes the ecosystem. The study also explores the dependence of species' abundance and survival probability on their position in the hierarchy.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chuanjin Fan, Donghui Zhu, Tongtong Zhang, Ruijia Wu
Summary: As species extinction and biodiversity decline, the identification of keystone species becomes crucial. Traditional approaches neglect the equally important indirect effects. Here, we propose an optimized disintegration strategy using tabu search to identify keystone species. Topological simulations and comparisons with traditional methods confirm the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in optimizing food web disintegration and identifying species that cause the most destruction.
Review
Plant Sciences
Warwick J. Allen, Jennifer L. Bufford, Andrew D. Barnes, Barbara I. P. Barratt, Julie R. Deslippe, Ian A. Dickie, Stephen L. Goldson, Brad G. Howlett, Philip E. Hulme, Sandra Lavorel, Sophie A. O'Brien, Lauren P. Waller, Jason M. Tylianakis
Summary: Nature-based agroecosystem management can be significantly improved by explicitly considering and manipulating the underlying networks of species interactions. Predicting the network roles of species and understanding the structure and dynamics of networks can help optimize management approaches and contribute to sustainable agroecosystems.
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Francisco de Castro, Sina M. Adl, Stefano Allesina, Richard D. Bardgett, Thomas Bolger, Johnathan J. Dalzell, Mark Emmerson, Thomas Fleming, Diego Garlaschelli, Jacopo Grilli, Silja Emilia Hannula, Franciska de Vries, Zoe Lindo, Aaron G. Maule, Maarja Opik, Matthias C. Rillig, Stavros D. Veresoglou, Diana H. Wall, Tancredi Caruso
Summary: The stability of soil food webs is largely influenced by strong correlations between interaction strengths and the nonrandom trophic structure of the web. This suggests that stability may emerge from the hierarchical structure of the functional organization of the web. Disruption of the functional structure and distribution pattern of interaction strengths in real-world soil food webs can destabilize the system, leading to species extinction and major changes in species abundances.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fatemeh Sadat Fatemi Nasrollahi, Colin Campbell, Reka Albert
Summary: The extinction of a species in a plant-pollinator mutualistic community can lead to major biodiversity loss. It is challenging to predict the severity of the cascading effects due to the complex network of interactions. In this study, models of plant and pollinator communities are analyzed, and positive feedback loops are identified as crucial for predicting catastrophic damage to the community. Mitigation measures for preventing and restoring community damage are suggested, with the analysis indicating that positive feedback loops are effective strategies.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Letizia Stella Di Mauro, Alessandro Pluchino, Erminia Conti, Christian Mulder
Summary: This study compares the detrital soil food webs of three temperate sandy ecosystems, aiming to quantify the impact of anthropogenic action on them. The results suggest that fallowed pasture with low pressure management is more robust than the other two grasslands under middle intensity management.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Jessica Trout-Haney, Kathryn L. Cottingham
Summary: Research has found that microcystins are prevalent in multiple components of Arctic aquatic food webs. The concentration of microcystins generally decreases with increasing trophic position, suggesting that biomagnification does not occur in these lakes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andre M. de Roos
Summary: The study shows that incorporating differences in vulnerability to predation and foraging efficiency between juvenile and adult individuals can result in larger and more complex communities in model simulations. These diverse communities are stable or fluctuate with limited amplitude, even with a highly connected population-level interaction network. This suggests that differences between juveniles and adults may have a significant impact on the stability of natural communities.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gabriel Gellner, Kevin McCann, Alan Hastings
Summary: This study uses an inverse approach to investigate the relationship between diversity and stability. By comparing classic random matrix models with energetically constrained feasible models, it is found that the latter produces more stable high-diversity food webs. These energetically constrained webs show an increasing number of weak interactions, which can enhance local stability.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Letter
Ecology
J. Jelle Lever, Egbert H. H. Van Nes, Marten Scheffer, Jordi Bascompte
Summary: Theory suggests that long, negative feedback loops may destabilize food webs as complexity increases. However, the specific ways in which these feedbacks affect ecosystems' response to environmental change have received less attention. In this study, we describe five ways in which these feedbacks might lead to abrupt transitions and species losses. By combining models, we show that the likelihood of such transitions increases with the number of interacting species and the stability of network patterns. These findings raise questions about the stability of ecosystems under global environmental change.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Pieter Appeltans, Silviu-Iulian Niculescu, Wim Michiels
Summary: This paper presents an analysis of the stability properties of PID controllers for dynamical systems with multiple state delays. It focuses on the mathematical characterization of the potential sensitivity of stability with respect to small parameter perturbations originating from neglecting feedback delay, a finite-difference approximation of the derivative action, or neglecting fast dynamics. The paper introduces the concept of "strong stability" and proves that it can be achieved by adding a low-pass filter with a sufficiently large cutoff frequency to the control loop, as long as the filter itself does not destabilize the nominal closed loop system. The theoretical results are illustrated by analytical examples, including a third-order unstable system. The paper also provides a computational procedure for designing strongly stabilizing PID controllers.
SIAM JOURNAL ON CONTROL AND OPTIMIZATION
(2022)
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Michael A. S. Thorne, Eric Forgoston, Lora Billings, Anje-Margriet Neutel
Summary: This paper discusses two methods for handling community matrices from populations with different time scales, one by adjusting diagonal elements to consider self-regulation and the other by a scaling process to translate diagonal information. The relation between the leading eigenvalue of the matrix and the numerical diagonal parameter is exact in many ecologically relevant networks. Additionally, feedback determines whether the leading eigenvalue is real or complex valued in competitive systems, which is important for the ecological sensibility of the scaling procedure.
SIAM JOURNAL ON APPLIED DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Charlie C. Nicholson, Benjamin F. Emery, Meredith T. Niles
Summary: There is a positive, saturating relationship between crop diversity and nutritional stability across countries, but over time nutritional stability remained stagnant or decreased in all regions except Asia. Crop diversification is important for food security, however recent gains in crop diversity among crops with fewer nutrients may not necessarily improve nutritional stability in a given country.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Vicente Garcia-Navas, Carlos Martinez-Nunez, Ruben Tarifa, Antonio J. Manzaneda, Francisco Valera, Teresa Salido, Francisco M. Camacho, Jorge Isla, Pedro J. Rey
Summary: This study examined the effects of landscape complexity and intensive management practices on the functional and phylogenetic diversity of animal communities inhabiting olive groves. The results showed that landscape complexity increased ant functional diversity, while intensive management practices led to increased functional diversity in bird communities.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Vicente Garcia-Navas, Carlos Martinez-Nunez, Ruben Tarifa, Jose L. Molina-Pardo, Francisco Valera, Teresa Salido, Francisco M. Camacho, Pedro J. Rey
Summary: The study revealed that beta diversity of bird communities in Mediterranean olive groves is influenced by landscape complexity, with species replacement driving differences among assemblages under different management and landscape types. Some farms may represent ecologically unique sites with key functions, highlighting their importance in anthropized landscape management.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Pedro J. Rey, Francisco M. Camacho, Ruben Tarifa, Carlos Martinez-Nunez, Teresa Salido, Antonio J. Perez, Daniel Garcia
Summary: Farming affects animal-mediated seed dispersal at two spatial scales: landscape scale through habitat loss and land conversion, and farm scale through local agricultural practices. This study found that avian frugivore behavior and seed dispersal in olive landscapes are impacted by changes in habitat and agricultural practices, highlighting the importance of maintaining woodland patches for conservation and functional connectivity in olive-dominated landscapes.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
J. Prieto-Rubio, J. L. Garrido, L. Perez-Izquierdo, J. M. Alcantara, C. Azcon-Aguilar, A. Lopez-Garcia, A. Rincon
Summary: The assembly of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities is influenced by both deterministic and stochastic processes, with stochastic processes having a larger contribution in many cases. Selection strength decreases at smaller spatial scales, correlated with plant host identity and environmental factors.
Article
Ecology
Antonio J. Perea, Thorsten Wiegand, Jose L. Garrido, Pedro J. Rey, Julio M. Alcantara
Summary: This study used point pattern analysis to examine the spatial phylogenetic and phenotypic structures of plant communities at different stages. The results showed that there were different patterns between saplings and adult plants, with adult plants exhibiting phylogenetic clustering. There were also differences in neighbor composition between species at different stages. The findings highlight the importance of ontogenetic shifts in plant community assembly processes.
Article
Ecology
Ignasi Bartomeus, Jose B. Lanuza, Thomas J. Wood, Luisa Carvalheiro, Francisco P. Molina, Miguel Angel Collado, Luis Oscar Aguado-Martin, David Alomar, Marian Alvarez Fidalgo, Piluca Alvarez Fidalgo, Montse Arista, Blanca Arroyo-Correa, Josep D. Asis, Celeste Azpiazu, Laura Banos-Picon, Pedro Beja, Mario Boieiro, Paulo A. V. Borges, Guillermo Gonzalez Bornay, Rafael Carvalho, Ramon Casimiro-Soriguer, Silvia Castro, Joana Costa, Ian Cross, Pilar De la Rua, Luis Miguel de Pablos, Victor de Paz, Joan Diaz-Calafat, Victoria Ferrrero, Hugo Gaspar, Guillaume Ghisbain, Jose M. Gomez, Carmelo Gomez-Martinez, Miguel A. Gonzalez-Estevez, Ruben Heleno, Jose M. Herrera, Jose I. Hormaza, Jose M. Iriondo, Michael Kuhlmann, Paola Laiolo, Carlos Lara-Romero, Amparo Lazaro, Jesus Lopez-Angulo, Francisco A. Lopez-Nunez, Joao Loureiro, Ainhoa Magrach, Vicente Martinez-Lopez, Carlos Martinez-Nunez, Denis Michez, Marcos Minarro, Ana Montero-Castano, Bruno Moreira, Javier Morente-Lopez, Nacho Noval Fonseca, Alejandro Nunez Carbajal, Jose R. Obeso, Concepcion Ornosa, Francisco J. Ortiz-Sanchez, Daniel Pareja Bonilla, Sebastien Patiny, Andreia Penado, Ana Picanco, Emilie F. Ploquin, Pierre Rasmont, Carla Rego, Pedro J. Rey, Elisa Ribas-Marques, Stuart P. M. Roberts, Marta Rodriguez, Natalia Rosas-Ramos, Ana M. Sanchez, Silvia Santamaria, Estefania Tobajas, Jose Tormos, Felix Torres, Alejandro Trillo, Javier Valverde, Montserrat Vila, Elisa Vinuela
Summary: This study presents a collaborative effort to create a database of Iberian bee occurrences, which is crucial for understanding and conserving bee biodiversity in the Iberian Peninsula.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Domingo Cano, Carlos Martinez-Nunez, Antonio J. Perez, Teresa Salido, Pedro J. Rey
Summary: The quality of floral patches, rather than landscape context or agricultural management, affects the abundance and diversity of flower-visiting insects. The pollination service provided by these floral patches is similar and high regardless of their context. These findings highlight the importance of small floral patches as reservoirs of biodiversity and pollination service.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Miguel Verdu, Jose L. Garrido, Julio M. Alcantara, Alicia Montesinos-Navarro, Salomon Aguilar, Marcelo A. Aizen, Ali A. Al-Namazi, Mohamed Alifriqui, David Allen, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Cristina Armas, Jesus M. Bastida, Tono Bellido, Giuliano Bonanomi, Gustavo B. Paterno, Herbert Briceno, Ricardo A. C. de Oliveira, Josefina G. Campoy, Ghassen Chaieb, Chengjin Chu, Sarah E. Collins, Richard Condit, Elena Constantinou, Cihan U. Degirmenci, Leo Delalandre, Milen Duarte, Michel Faife, Fatih Fazlioglu, Edwino S. Fernando, Joel Flores, Hilda Flores-Olvera, Ecaterina Fodor, Gislene Ganade, Maria Begona Garcia, Patricio Garcia-Fayos, Sabrina S. Gavini, Marta Goberna, Lorena Gomez-Aparicio, Enrique Gonzalez-Pendas, Ana Gonzalez-Robles, Stephen P. Hubbell, Kahraman Ipekdal, Maria J. Jorquera, Zaal Kikvidze, Pinar Kutkut, Alicia Ledo, Sandra Lendinez, Buhang Li, Hanlun Liu, Francisco Lloret, Ramiro P. Lopez, Alvaro Lopez-Garcia, Christopher J. Lortie, Gianalberto Losapio, James A. Lutz, Arantzazu L. Luzuriaga, Frantisek Malis, Esteban Manrique, Antonio J. Manzaneda, Vinicius Marcilio-Silva, Richard Michalet, Rafael Molina-Venegas, Jose Antonio Navarro-Cano, Vojtech Novotny, Jens M. Olesen, Juan P. Ortiz-Brunel, Maria Pajares-Murgo, Nikolas Parissis, Geoffrey Parker, Antonio J. Perea, Vidal Perez-Hernandez, Maria Angeles Perez-Navarro, Nuria Piston, Elisa Pizarro-Carbonell, Ivan Prieto, Jorge Prieto-Rubio, Francisco Pugnaire, Nelson Ramirez, Ruben Retuerto, Pedro J. Rey, Daniel A. Rodriguez Ginart, Mariana Rodriguez-Sanchez, Ricardo Sanchez-Martin, Christian Schob, Cagatay Tavsanoglu, Giorgi Tedoradze, Amanda Tercero-Araque, Katja Tielboerger, Blaise Touzard, Irem Tufekcioglu, Sevda Turkis, Francisco M. Usero, Nurbahar Usta, Alfonso Valiente-Banuet, Alexia Vargas-Colin, Ioannis Vogiatzakis, Regino Zamora
Summary: Plant recruitment interactions shape plant community composition, diversity, and structure. Modeling and analyzing the community-level structure of plant recruitment interactions as a complex network can provide relevant information on ecological and evolutionary processes. This data set includes 143 plant recruitment networks across five continents, providing valuable information for testing ecological, biogeographical, and evolutionary hypotheses related to plant recruitment interactions.
Article
Ecology
Mariona Pajares-Murgo, Jose L. Garrido, Antonio J. Perea, Alvaro Lopez-Garcia, Julio M. Alcantara
Summary: The phyllosphere is an important ecosystem for microbial diversity, and factors such as plant identity, leaf functional traits, and host plant phylogeny determine the composition of fungal communities. This study found that plant species had a greater impact on phyllosphere fungal composition, and leaf traits and plant phylogeny influenced fungal community differences and the structure of the plant-fungus interaction network. Leaf habit also affected the composition of decomposer and epiphytic fungi.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fernando T. Maestre, Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, David J. Eldridge, Hugo Saiz, Miguel Berdugo, Beatriz Gozalo, Victoria Ochoa, Emilio Guirado, Miguel Garcia-Gomez, Enrique Valencia, Juan J. Gaitan, Sergio Asensio, Betty J. Mendoza, Cesar Plaza, Paloma Diaz-Martinez, Ana Rey, Hang-Wei Hu, Ji-Zheng He, Jun-Tao Wang, Anika Lehmann, Matthias C. Rillig, Simone Cesarz, Nico Eisenhauer, Jaime Martinez-Valderrama, Eduardo Moreno-Jimenez, Osvaldo Sala, Mehdi Abedi, Negar Ahmadian, Concepcion L. Alados, Valeria Aramayo, Fateh Amghar, Tulio Arredondo, Rodrigo J. Ahumada, Khadijeh Bahalkeh, Farah Ben Salem, Niels Blaum, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Matthew A. Bowker, Donaldo Bran, Chongfeng Bu, Rafaella Canessa, Andrea P. Castillo-Monroy, Helena Castro, Ignacio Castro, Patricio Castro-Quezada, Roukaya Chibani, Abel A. Conceicao, Courtney M. Currier, Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi, Balazs Deak, David A. Donoso, Andrew J. Dougill, Jorge Duran, Batdelger Erdenetsetseg, Carlos I. Espinosa, Alex Fajardo, Mohammad Farzam, Daniela Ferrante, Anke S. K. Frank, Lauchlan H. Fraser, Laureano A. Gherardi, Aaron C. Greenville, Carlos A. Guerra, Elizabeth Gusman-Montalvan, Rosa M. Hernandez-Hernandez, Norbert Holzel, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, Frederic M. Hughes, Oswaldo Jadan-Maza, Florian Jeltsch, Anke Jentsch, Kudzai F. Kaseke, Melanie Kobel, Jessica E. Koopman, Cintia V. Leder, Anja Linstadter, Peter C. le Roux, Xinkai Li, Pierre Liancourt, Jushan Liu, Michelle A. Louw, Gillian Maggs-Kolling, Thulani P. Makhalanyane, Oumarou Malam Issa, Antonio J. Manzaneda, Eugene Marais, Juan P. Mora, Gerardo Moreno, Seth M. Munson, Alice Nunes, Gabriel Oliva, Gaston R. Onatibia, Guadalupe Peter, Marco O. D. Pivari, Yolanda Pueyo, R. Emiliano Quiroga, Soroor Rahmanian, Sasha C. Reed, Pedro J. Rey, Benoit Richard, Alexandra Rodriguez, Victor Rolo, Juan G. Rubalcaba, Jan C. Ruppert, Ayman Salah, Max A. Schuchardt, Sedona Spann, Ilan Stavi, Colton R. A. Stephens, Anthony M. Swemmer, Alberto L. Teixido, Andrew D. Thomas, Heather L. Throop, Katja Tielborger, Samantha Travers, James Val, Orsolya Valko, Liesbeth van den Brink, Sergio Velasco Ayuso, Frederike Velbert, Wanyoike Wamiti, Deli Wang, Lixin Wang, Glenda M. Wardle, Laura Yahdjian, Eli Zaady, Yuanming Zhang, Xiaobing Zhou, Brajesh K. Singh, Nicolas Gross
Summary: Interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil, and biodiversity are crucial in determining the delivery of ecosystem services in drylands worldwide. Increased grazing pressure reduces service delivery in warmer and species-poor areas, while positive effects of grazing are observed in colder and species-rich areas.
Article
Ecology
Jose L. Garrido, Julio. M. Alcantara, Alvaro Lopez-Garcia, Carmen. Ozuna, Antonio. J. Perea, Jorge Prieto, Ana Rincon, Concepcion Azcon-Aguilar
Summary: This study explores the relationship between plant-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) networks and plant recruitment interaction networks in Mediterranean forest communities. The results demonstrate that the properties of plant-AMF networks influence the structure and function of plant recruitment networks, potentially affecting plant community dynamics.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Antonio J. Perea, Belen Merelas Meijide, Maria del Mar Alguacil, Jorge Prieto-Rubio, Concepcion Azcon-Aguilar, Julio M. Alcantara, Jose L. Garrido, Alvaro Lopez-Garcia
Summary: This study found that soil microbial communities can affect plant growth and the formation of ecological communities. Specifically, higher associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi promote aboveground biomass of plants, while small-sized soil microbiota inhibit plant growth. Considering the functional guilds of soil microbial communities is crucial for understanding plant-soil legacies, feedbacks, and plant community assembly.
Article
Plant Sciences
Antonio J. Perea, Jose L. Garrido, Julio M. Alcantara
Summary: The assembly of plant communities is strongly influenced by recruitment mechanisms, with traits of saplings and established plants playing a crucial role. While certain traits of plants affect recruitment, there is limited evidence supporting trait complementarity in the interaction between canopy and recruit species. Traits also impact seed arrival and soil properties, influencing species abundance in the sapling bank.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2021)