The Robustness and Restoration of a Network of Ecological Networks

Abstract

Networks of Networks Quantitative networks, such as those represented by food webs, have become an important way of investigating the structure of ecological communities, but thus far only encompass a small subset of species. Pocock et al. (p. 973 ) have linked seven different types of ecological networks to form a network of networks. They found that although networks varied in their robustness to species loss, they did not strongly co-vary; that is, what happens to one network is unrelated to what happens to another. The networks studied were identified from an agroecosystem in the southwestern UK, a habitat in which biodiversity has suffered substantially. This study succeeded in revealing which species are potential targets for restoration of ecological function in this and other systems.