Modeling the building blocks of biodiversity.
BACKGROUND: Networks of single interaction types, such as plant-pollinator mutualisms, are biodiversity's "building blocks". Yet, the structure of mutualistic and antagonistic networks differs, leaving no unified modeling framework across biodiversity's component pieces. METHODS/...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3584074?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818852854838853632 |
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| author | Lucas N Joppa Rich Williams |
| author_facet | Lucas N Joppa Rich Williams |
| author_sort | Lucas N Joppa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BACKGROUND: Networks of single interaction types, such as plant-pollinator mutualisms, are biodiversity's "building blocks". Yet, the structure of mutualistic and antagonistic networks differs, leaving no unified modeling framework across biodiversity's component pieces. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We use a one-dimensional "niche model" to predict antagonistic and mutualistic species interactions, finding that accuracy decreases with the size of the network. We show that properties of the modeled network structure closely approximate empirical properties even where individual interactions are poorly predicted. Further, some aspects of the structure of the niche space were consistently different between network classes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These novel results reveal fundamental differences between the ability to predict ecologically important features of the overall structure of a network and the ability to predict pair-wise species interactions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T07:27:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d0460b61aad4ca18d60349773671d85 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T07:27:32Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d0460b61aad4ca18d60349773671d852022-12-21T20:30:48ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0182e5627710.1371/journal.pone.0056277Modeling the building blocks of biodiversity.Lucas N JoppaRich WilliamsBACKGROUND: Networks of single interaction types, such as plant-pollinator mutualisms, are biodiversity's "building blocks". Yet, the structure of mutualistic and antagonistic networks differs, leaving no unified modeling framework across biodiversity's component pieces. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We use a one-dimensional "niche model" to predict antagonistic and mutualistic species interactions, finding that accuracy decreases with the size of the network. We show that properties of the modeled network structure closely approximate empirical properties even where individual interactions are poorly predicted. Further, some aspects of the structure of the niche space were consistently different between network classes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These novel results reveal fundamental differences between the ability to predict ecologically important features of the overall structure of a network and the ability to predict pair-wise species interactions.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3584074?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Lucas N Joppa Rich Williams Modeling the building blocks of biodiversity. PLoS ONE |
| title | Modeling the building blocks of biodiversity. |
| title_full | Modeling the building blocks of biodiversity. |
| title_fullStr | Modeling the building blocks of biodiversity. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modeling the building blocks of biodiversity. |
| title_short | Modeling the building blocks of biodiversity. |
| title_sort | modeling the building blocks of biodiversity |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3584074?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lucasnjoppa modelingthebuildingblocksofbiodiversity AT richwilliams modelingthebuildingblocksofbiodiversity |