Abstract
Ecological theory suggests that complex food webs should not persist because of their inherent instability. "Real" ecosystems often support a large number of interacting species. A mathematical model shows that fluctuating short-term selection on trophic links, arising from a consumer's adaptive food choice, is a key to the long-term stability of complex communities. Without adaptive foragers, food-web complexity destabilizes community composition; whereas in their presence, complexity may enhance community persistence through facilitation of dynamical food-web reconstruction that buffers environmental fluctuations. The model predicts a linkage pattern consistent with field observations.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1388-1391 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 299 |
Issue number | 5611 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2003 Feb 28 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General