Energetic Food Webs: An Analysis Of Real And Model Ecosystems (oxford Series In Ecology And Evolution)

In ecosystems with many species, food webs form highly complex networks of resource-consumer interactions. At the same time, the food web as itself needs sufficient resources to develop and survive. So in fact, food web ecology is about how natural resources form the basis of biological communities, in terms of species richness and abundances as well as how species are organised in communities on the basis of the resource availability and use. The central theme of this book is that patterns in the utilisation of energy result from the trophic interactions among species, and that these patterns form the basis of ecosystem stability. The authors integrate the latest work on community dynamics, ecosystem energetics, and stability, and in so doing attempt to dispel the categorisation of the field into the separate subdisciplines of population, community, and ecosystem ecology. Energetic Food Webs represents the first attempt to bridge the gap between the energetic and species approaches to ecology. Cover 1 Contents 6 Chapter 1 Approaches to studying food webs 12 1.1 Introduction 12 1.2 Traditions in ecology 14 1.2.1 The community perspective 16 1.2.2 The ecosystem perspective 18 1.3 Food webs and traditions in ecology 22 1.3.1 Theoretically based food webs 22 1.3.2 Empirically based food webs: architecture 22 1.3.3 Empirically based food webs: information 24 1.3.4 How useful are these descriptions? 26 1.4 Bridging perspectives through energetics 29 1.4.1 Core concepts and elements 29 1.4.2 Comments on our approach to studying food webs 30 1.5 An overview of the parts and chapters 32 1.6 Summary 33 Part I: Modeling simple andmultispecies communities 34 Chapter 2 Models of simple and complex systems 38 2.1 Introduction 38 2.2 Model structure and assumptions 38 2.3 Stability 47 2.4 Simple food chains 55 2.5 The dynamics of primary-producer-based and detritus-based models 61 2.6 Summary and conclusions 62 Chapter 3 Connectedness food webs 65 3.1 Introduction 65 3.2 Soil food webs 65 3.3 The CPER soil food web 66 3.4 Summary and conclusions 82 Chapter 4 Energy flux food webs 83 4.1 Introduction 83 4.2 Biomass and physiological parameters 83 4.3 Feeding rates and mineralization rates 86 4.4 Energy flux descriptions 90 4.5 Summary and conclusions 103 Chapter 5 Functional webs 105 5.1 Introduction 105 5.2 Interaction strengths 105 5.3 A functional food web for the CPER 114 5.4 Summary and conclusions 124 Part II: The dynamics and stability of simple and complex communities 134 Chapter 6 Energetic organization and food web stability 138 6.1 Introduction 138 6.2 Energetic organization and stability 139 6.3 Distribution of interaction strengths: trophic-level-dependent interaction strengths 142 6.4 Summary and conclusions 151 Chapter 7 Enrichment, trophic structure, and stability 152 7.1 Introduction 152 7.2 Simple primary-producer-based and detritus-based models 154 7.3 Trophic structure and dynamics along a productivity gradient 158 7.4 More complex models 168 7.5 Connections to real-world productivity 176 7.6 Summary and conclusions 180 Chapter 8 Modeling compartments 183 8.1 Introduction 183 8.2 Complexity, diversity, compartments, and stability 184 8.3 Defining compartments 187 8.4 Approaches to studying compartments 188 8.5 The energy channel 198 8.6 Energy channels—structure and stability 211 8.7 Summary and conclusions 218 Chapter 9 Productivity, dynamic stability, and species richness 219 9.1 Introduction 219 9.2 Trophic structure, dynamics, and productivity 224 9.3 Feasibility revisited 225 9.4 Feasibility and the hump-shaped curve 229 9.5 Trophic structure and the diversity of production 235 9.6 A review of hypotheses 237 9.7 Summary and conclusions 240 Part III: Dynamic food web architectures 242 Chapter 10 Species-based versus biomass-based food web descriptions 246 10.1 Introduction 246 10.2 Dynamic food webs—playing Jenga 247 10.3 Two case studies 250 10.4 Stability, disturbance, and transition 255 10.5 Summary and conclusions 261 Chapter 11 Dynamic architectures and stability of complex systems along productivity gradients 263 11.1 Introduction 263 11.2 Food web structure in a cave ecosystem 264 11.3 Food web structure and stability along the primary succession gradient at the Wadden island of Schiermonnikoog, The Netherlands 271 11.4 Food web structure in a changing Arctic 279 11.5 General framework 291 11.6 Summary and conclusions 293 Chapter 12 Food web dynamics beyond asymptotic behavior 295 12.1 Introduction 295 12.2 Variability, equilibrium states, and asymptotic stability 296 12.3 Transient dynamics 300 12.4 Spatial systems 307 12.5 Asymptotically ambiguous states 314 12.6 Reconciling asymptotic stability, spatial structure, and transient dynamics 317 12.7 Summary and conclusions 318 References 321 Index 340 A 340 B 340 C 340 D 340 E 340 F 341 H 341 I 341 J 342 K 342 L 342 M 342 O 342 P 342 R 342 S 343 T 343 V 344 W 344 This novel book bridges the gap between the energetic and species approaches to studying food webs, addressing many important topics in ecology. Species, matter, and energy are common features of all ecological systems. Through the lens of complex adaptive systems thinking, the authors explore how the inextricable relationship between species, matter, and energy can explain how systems are structured and how they persist in real and model systems. Food webs are viewed as open and dynamic systems. The central theme of the book is that the basis of ecosystem persistence and stability rests on the interplay between the rates of input of energy into the system from living and dead sources, and the patterns in utilization of energy that result from the trophic interactions among species within the system. To develop this theme, the authors integrate the latest work on community dynamics, ecosystem energetics, and stability. In so doing, they present a unified ecology that dispels the categorization of the field into the separate subdisciplines of population, community, and ecosystem ecology. Energetic Food Webs is suitable for both graduate level students and professional researchers in the general field of ecology. It will be of particular relevance and use to those working in the specific areas of food webs, species dynamics, material and energy cycling, as well as community and ecosystem ecology. Food Webs Describe Biological Communities In Terms Of Feeding Interactions. This Book Integrates The Latest Work On Community Dynamics, Ecosystems Energetics, And Stability To Dispel Categorisation Of The Field Into Separate Subdiciplines Of Population, Community, And Ecosystem Ecology. Ch. 1. Approaches To Studying Food Webs -- Ch. 2. Models Of Simple And Complex Systems -- Ch. 3. Connectedness Food Webs -- Ch. 4 Energy Flux Food Webs -- Ch. 5. Functional Webs -- Ch. 6. Energetic Organization And Food Web Stability -- Ch. 7. Enrichment, Trophic Structure, And Stability -- Ch. 8. Modeling Compartments -- Ch. 9. Productivity, Dynamic Stability, And Species Richness -- Ch. 10. Species-based Versus Biomass-based Food Web Descriptions -- Ch. 11. Dynamic Architectures And Stability Of Complex Systems Along Productivity Gradients -- Ch. 12. Food Web Dynamics Beyond Asymptotic Behavior. John C. Moore, Peter C. De Ruiter. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [310]-328) And Index.