Structural stability as a consistent predictor of phenological events.

ABSTRACT: The timing of the first and last seasonal appearance of a species in a community typically follows a pattern that is governed by temporal factors. While it has been shown that changes in the environment are linked to phenological changes, the direction of this link appears elusive and context-dependent. Thus, finding consistent predictors of phenological events is of central importance for a better assessment of expected changes in the temporal dynamics of ecological communities. Here we introduce a measure of structural stability derived from species interaction networks as an estimator of the expected range of environmental conditions compatible with the existence of a community. We test this measure as a predictor of changes in species richness recorded on a daily basis in a high-arctic

SUBMITTER: Song C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6015855 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature