Pyramids and cascades: a synthesis of food chain functioning and stability.

ABSTRACT: Food chain theory is one of the cornerstones of ecology, providing many of its basic predictions, such as biomass pyramids, trophic cascades and predator-prey oscillations. Yet, ninety years into this theory, the conditions under which these patterns may occur and persist in nature remain subject to debate. Rather than address each pattern in isolation, we propose that they must be understood together, calling for synthesis in a fragmented landscape of theoretical and empirical results. As a first step, we propose a minimal theory that combines the long-standing energetic and dynamical approaches of food chains. We chart theoretical predictions on a concise map, where two main regimes emerge: across various functioning and stability metrics, one regime is characterised by pyramidal pattern

SUBMITTER: Barbier M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6379062 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature