Ecological Networks in the Tropics : An Integrative Overview of Species Interactions From Some of the Most Species-Rich Habitats on Earth

Based on graph theory studies this book seeks to understand how tropical species interact with each other and how these interactions are affected by perturbations in some of the most species-rich habitats on earth. Due to the great diversity of species and interactions in the tropics, this book addresses a wide range of current and future issues with empirical examples and complete revisions on different types of ecological networks: from mutualisms to antagonisms. The goal of this publication is not to be only for researchers but also for undergraduates in different areas of knowledge, and also to serve as a reference text for graduate-level courses mainly in the life sciences. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Tropical Biodiversity: The Importance of Biotic Interactions for Its Origin, Maintenance, Function, and Conservation (Ellen Andresen, Víctor Arroyo-Rodríguez, Federico Escobar)....Pages 1-13 The History of Ecological Networks (Thomas C. Ings, Joseph E. Hawes)....Pages 15-28 The Structure of Ecological Networks (D. Matthias Dehling)....Pages 29-42 Ecology and Evolution of Species-Rich Interaction Networks (Rafael Luís Galdini Raimundo, Flavia Maria Darcie Marquitti, Cecilia Siliansky de Andreazzi, Mathias Mistretta Pires, Paulo Roberto Guimarães Jr)....Pages 43-58 The Complex Ant–Plant Relationship Within Tropical Ecological Networks (Kleber Del-Claro, Denise Lange, Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi, Diego Vinicius Anjos, Eduardo Soares Calixto, Wesley Dáttilo et al.)....Pages 59-71 Plant-Pollinator Networks in the Tropics: A Review (Jeferson Vizentin-Bugoni, Pietro Kiyoshi Maruyama, Camila Silveira de Souza, Jeff Ollerton, André Rodrigo Rech, Marlies Sazima)....Pages 73-91 Tropical Seed Dispersal Networks: Emerging Patterns, Biases, and Keystone Species Traits (Gema Escribano-Avila, Carlos Lara-Romero, Ruben Heleno, Anna Traveset)....Pages 93-110 Plant-Herbivore Networks in the Tropics (Antonio López-Carretero, Ek del-Val, Karina Boege)....Pages 111-126 Host-Parasite Networks: An Integrative Overview with Tropical Examples (Sybelle Bellay, Fabrício Hiroiuki Oda, Karla Magalhães Campião, Fábio Hideki Yamada, Ricardo Massato Takemoto, Edson Fontes de Oliveira)....Pages 127-140 Interaction Networks in Tropical Reefs (Mauricio Cantor, Guilherme O. Longo, Luisa Fontoura, Juan P. Quimbayo, Sergio R. Floeter, Mariana G. Bender)....Pages 141-154 Ecological Networks in Changing Tropics (Eduardo Freitas Moreira, Patrícia Alves Ferreira, Luciano Elsinor Lopes, Raimunda Gomes Silva Soares, Danilo Boscolo)....Pages 155-169 The Future of Ecological Networks in the Tropics (Luciano Cagnolo)....Pages 171-183 A Useful Guide of Main Indices and Software Used for Ecological Networks Studies (Reuber Antoniazzi Jr, Wesley Dáttilo, Victor Rico-Gray)....Pages 185-196 Back Matter ....Pages 197-201