Biomass Reallocation between Juveniles and Adults Mediates Food Web Stability by Distributing Energy Away from Strong Interactions

Amanda L Caskenette and Kevin S McCann

PLOS ONE, 2017, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Ecological theory has uncovered dynamical differences between food web modules (i.e. low species food web configurations) with only species-level links and food web modules that include within-species links (e.g. non-feeding links between mature and immature individuals) and has argued that these differences ought to cause food web theory that includes within-species links to contrast with classical food web theory. It is unclear, however, if life-history will affect the observed connection between interaction strength and stability in species-level theory. We show that when the predator in a species-level food chain is split into juvenile and adult stages using a simple nested approach, stage-structure can mute potentially strong interactions through the transfer of biomass within a species. Within-species biomass transfer distributes energy away from strong interactions promoting increased system stability consistent with classical food web theory.

Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0170725

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170725

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