Reconciling complexity with stability in naturally assembling food webs

Anje-Margriet Neutel (), Johan A. P. Heesterbeek, Johan van de Koppel, Guido Hoenderboom, An Vos, Coen Kaldeway, Frank Berendse and Peter C. de Ruiter
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Anje-Margriet Neutel: University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
Johan A. P. Heesterbeek: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Theoretical Epidemiology, Utrecht University
Johan van de Koppel: Centre for Estuarine and Marine Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)
Guido Hoenderboom: Wageningen University and Research Centre
An Vos: Alterra, Soil Science Centre, Wageningen University and Research Centre
Coen Kaldeway: Alterra, Soil Science Centre, Wageningen University and Research Centre
Frank Berendse: Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology Group, Wageningen University
Peter C. de Ruiter: Alterra, Soil Science Centre, Wageningen University and Research Centre

Nature, 2007, vol. 449, issue 7162, 599-602

Abstract: Food web complexity Natural ecosystems consist of complex networks of feeding relations between organisms. Ecologists aim to understand what keeps such intricate networks stable, despite the fact that a disturbance may lead to all kinds of chain reactions of populations affecting each other, which might be expected to make these food webs very vulnerable. Anje-Margriet Neutel et al. now show that by keeping a relatively high proportion of ecosystem biomass at the base of food chains, preserving a 'pyramidal' shape, food webs grow in complexity while maintaining their stability. This work, based on a long-term study of below-ground food webs in sandy dune soils from two different areas in the Netherlands, reconciles 'May's paradox', which holds that randomly generated food webs decrease in stability as they increase in complexity.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06154

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