Five fundamental ways in which complex food webs may spiral out of control.
Ecol Lett
; 26(10): 1765-1779, 2023 Oct.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37587015
ABSTRACT
Theory suggests that increasingly long, negative feedback loops of many interacting species may destabilize food webs as complexity increases. Less attention has, however, been paid to the specific ways in which these 'delayed negative feedbacks' may affect the response of complex ecosystems to global environmental change. Here, we describe five fundamental ways in which these feedbacks might pave the way for abrupt, large-scale transitions and species losses. By combining topological and bioenergetic models, we then proceed by showing that the likelihood of such transitions increases with the number of interacting species and/or when the combined effects of stabilizing network patterns approach the minimum required for stable coexistence. Our findings thus shift the question from the classical question of what makes complex, unaltered ecosystems stable to whether the effects of, known and unknown, stabilizing food-web patterns are sufficient to prevent abrupt, large-scale transitions under global environmental change.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Ecossistema
/
Cadeia Alimentar
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Ecol Lett
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Holanda