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Nature
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Ecological networks and their fragility

Naturevolume 442, pages259–264 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Darwin used the metaphor of a ‘tangled bank’ to describe the complex interactions between species. Those interactions are varied: they can be antagonistic ones involving predation, herbivory and parasitism, or mutualistic ones, such as those involving the pollination of flowers by insects. Moreover, the metaphor hints that the interactions may be complex to the point of being impossible to understand. All interactions can be visualized as ecological networks, in which species are linked together, either directly or indirectly through intermediate species. Ecological networks, although complex, have well defined patterns that both illuminate the ecological mechanisms underlying them and promise a better understanding of the relationship between complexity and ecological stability.

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Figure 1:Shortest paths in a complex food web.
Figure 2:Distribution of linkage density in ecological networks.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Dunne, D. Rafaelli, M. Emmerson and G. Woodward for comments; P. Jordano and R. Waide for the pictures and data forFig. 2; and S. Valverde for assistance with the figures. This work was supported by an NERC Fellowship (J.M.M.) and the Santa Fe Institute (grant to R.V.S.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, E1 4NS, London, UK

    José M. Montoya

  2. ICREA-Complex Systems Laboratory, IMIM-UPF, Dr Aiguader 80, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    José M. Montoya & Ricard V. Solé

  3. Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27708, USA

    Stuart L. Pimm

  4. Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, New Mexico, 87501, USA

    Ricard V. Solé

Authors
  1. José M. Montoya

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  2. Stuart L. Pimm

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  3. Ricard V. Solé

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Corresponding author

Correspondence toStuart L. Pimm.

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Editorial Summary

Ecological complexity untangled

Food webs map which organisms eat which other organisms, and help to visualize community organization. They are complex, as Darwin recognized in his metaphor of a “tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth”. The cover (by Sergi Valverde using Netlab software) illustrates complexity in an empirical food web — here it's species associated with Scotch broom at Silwood Park, UK. Montoyaet al. review recent work on ecological networks and consider a paradox: theory predicts that complex networks will be fragile, yet complexity evolves and persists. Yes, these networks are complex, they conclude, but not so complex that we can't understand them. There are simplifying patterns in maps of feeding relationships, and parts of the 'tangled bank' are less tangled than others. As simulations grow more realistic, factors influencing ecological fragility should become clearer, with benefits for work on ecological impact and conservation. Ecology features elsewhere this week. In a contribution to the debate on ecosystem biodiversity, Rooneyet al. identify a recurring pattern in real food webs: the top predators couple distinct 'fast' and 'slow' energy channels that differ in both productivity and turnover rate. Theory suggests that such coupling is critical to food-web stability. Alarmingly, human actions that reduce biodiversity also erode structures that provide that stability. So it may be time to stop focusing exclusively on ecosystem biodiversity, and to look more closely at the factors that create food-web stability. All agree: matters ecological are complex. But policymakers do not have a recognized international body of experts to turn to. Climate change has the IPCC. Now ecologists present the case for IMoSEB, the International Mechanism of Scientific Expertise on Biodiversity.

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