The assembly, collapse and restoration of food webs

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
By: , and 

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Abstract

Darwin chose the metaphor of a 'tangled bank' to conclude the 'Origin of species'. Two centuries after Darwin's birth, we are still untangling the complex ecological networks he has pondered. In particular, studies of food webs provide important insights into how natural ecosystems function (Pascual & Dunne 2005). Although the nonlinear interactions between many species creates challenges of scale, resolution of data and significant computational constraints, the last 10 years have seen significant advances built on the earlier classic studies of Cohen, May, Pimm, Polis, Lawton and Yodzis (May 1974; Cohen 1978; Pimm 1982; Briand & Cohen 1984, 1987; Yodzis 1989; Cohen et al. 1990; Pimm et al. 1991; Yodzis & Innes 1992; Yodzis 1998). These gains stem from advances in computing power and the collation of more comprehensive data from a broader array of empirical food webs.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title The assembly, collapse and restoration of food webs
Series title Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
DOI 10.1098/rstb.2009.0002
Volume 364
Issue 1524
Year Published 2009
Language English
Publisher Royal Society Publishing
Publisher location London, England
Contributing office(s) Western Ecological Research Center
Description 4 p.
First page 1803
Last page 1806
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