Generic assembly patterns in complex ecological communities.

ABSTRACT: The study of ecological communities often involves detailed simulations of complex networks. However, our empirical knowledge of these networks is typically incomplete and the space of simulation models and parameters is vast, leaving room for uncertainty in theoretical predictions. Here we show that a large fraction of this space of possibilities exhibits generic behaviors that are robust to modeling choices. We consider a wide array of model features, including interaction types and community structures, known to generate different dynamics for a few species. We combine these features in large simulated communities, and show that equilibrium diversity, functioning, and stability can be predicted analytically using a random model parameterized by a few statistical properties of the commun

SUBMITTER: Barbier M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5834670 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature