Journal Article10.2307/1937073
Environmental Control of Food Web Structure
TL;DR: The structure of 40 real food webs, representing aquatic and terrestrial communities from all latitudes, was found to be markedly affected by the degree of variability of the physical environment as discussed by the authors.
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Abstract: The structure of 40 real food webs, representing aquatic and terrestrial communities from all latitudes, is found to be markedly affected by the degree of variability of the physical environment. In particular, food webs in fluctuating ecosystems are characterized by a significantly lower connectance than webs representative of more constant systems. This is interpreted within the context of stability theory as a means to optimize feeding in the face of increasing disturbance. It is shown further than the nature of the habitat itself imposes additional constraints on food web structure in intertidal, pelagic, estuarine, and forest ecosystems. See full-text article at JSTOR
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References
•Book
Food webs and niche space
Joel E. Cohen
- 01 Jan 1978
TL;DR: It is shown that within habitats of a certain limited physical and temporal heterogeneity, the overlaps among niches, along their trophic dimensions, can be represented in a one-dimensional niche space far more often than would be expected by chance alone and perhaps always.
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