The impact of structured higher order interactions on ecological network stability
The impact of higher-order interactions, those involving more than two species, is increasingly appreciated as having the potential to strongly influence the dynamics of complex ecological systems. However, although the critical importance of the structure of pairwise interaction networks is well es...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2025
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| _version_ | 1824459100454387712 |
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| author | Terry, J Bonsall, MB Morris, R |
| author_facet | Terry, J Bonsall, MB Morris, R |
| author_sort | Terry, J |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | The impact of higher-order interactions, those involving more than two species, is increasingly appreciated as having the potential to strongly influence the dynamics of complex ecological systems. However, although the critical importance of the structure of pairwise interaction networks is well established, studies of higher-order interactions still largely assume random structures. Here, we demonstrate the strong impact of structured higher-order interactions on simulated ecological communities. We focus on effects caused by interaction modifications within food webs, where a consumer resource interaction is modified by a third species, and for which plausible structures can be hypothesised. We show how interaction modifications introduced under a range of non-random distributions may impact the overall network structure. Local stability and the size of the feasibility domain are critically dependent on the inter-relationship between trophic and non-trophic effects. Where interaction modifications are structured into mutual interference motifs (associated with consumers switching between resources) synergistic signs and topological effects have particularly consequential impacts. Furthermore, we show that previous results of the impact of higher-order interactions on diversity-stability relationships can be reversed when higher-order interactions are structured, not random. Empirical data on interaction modifications will be a key part of improving understanding the dynamics of communities, particularly the distribution of interaction modification signs across networks.
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| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:36:25Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:7acf59c7-37b0-4c63-9d51-dab3c4999376 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:36:25Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:7acf59c7-37b0-4c63-9d51-dab3c49993762025-01-31T10:15:09ZThe impact of structured higher order interactions on ecological network stabilityJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:7acf59c7-37b0-4c63-9d51-dab3c4999376EnglishSymplectic ElementsSpringer Nature2025Terry, JBonsall, MBMorris, RThe impact of higher-order interactions, those involving more than two species, is increasingly appreciated as having the potential to strongly influence the dynamics of complex ecological systems. However, although the critical importance of the structure of pairwise interaction networks is well established, studies of higher-order interactions still largely assume random structures. Here, we demonstrate the strong impact of structured higher-order interactions on simulated ecological communities. We focus on effects caused by interaction modifications within food webs, where a consumer resource interaction is modified by a third species, and for which plausible structures can be hypothesised. We show how interaction modifications introduced under a range of non-random distributions may impact the overall network structure. Local stability and the size of the feasibility domain are critically dependent on the inter-relationship between trophic and non-trophic effects. Where interaction modifications are structured into mutual interference motifs (associated with consumers switching between resources) synergistic signs and topological effects have particularly consequential impacts. Furthermore, we show that previous results of the impact of higher-order interactions on diversity-stability relationships can be reversed when higher-order interactions are structured, not random. Empirical data on interaction modifications will be a key part of improving understanding the dynamics of communities, particularly the distribution of interaction modification signs across networks. |
| spellingShingle | Terry, J Bonsall, MB Morris, R The impact of structured higher order interactions on ecological network stability |
| title | The impact of structured higher order interactions on ecological network stability |
| title_full | The impact of structured higher order interactions on ecological network stability |
| title_fullStr | The impact of structured higher order interactions on ecological network stability |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of structured higher order interactions on ecological network stability |
| title_short | The impact of structured higher order interactions on ecological network stability |
| title_sort | impact of structured higher order interactions on ecological network stability |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT terryj theimpactofstructuredhigherorderinteractionsonecologicalnetworkstability AT bonsallmb theimpactofstructuredhigherorderinteractionsonecologicalnetworkstability AT morrisr theimpactofstructuredhigherorderinteractionsonecologicalnetworkstability AT terryj impactofstructuredhigherorderinteractionsonecologicalnetworkstability AT bonsallmb impactofstructuredhigherorderinteractionsonecologicalnetworkstability AT morrisr impactofstructuredhigherorderinteractionsonecologicalnetworkstability |