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Foraging Adaptation and the Relationship Between Food-Web Complexity and Stability
Michio Kondoh
Ecological theory suggests that complex food webs should not
persist because of their inherent instability. "Real" ecosystemsoften support a large number of interacting species. A mathematicalmodel shows that fluctuating short-term selection on trophic links,arising from a consumer's adaptive food choice, is a key to thelong-term stability of complex communities. Without adaptive foragers,food-web complexity destabilizes community composition; whereasin
their presence, complexity may enhance community persistencethrough
facilitation of dynamical food-web reconstruction thatbuffers
environmental fluctuations. The model predicts a linkagepattern
consistent with field observations.
Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Kamitanakami,
Otsu 520-2113, Japan.
Present address: Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University,
Post Office Box 915, Cardiff CF10 3TL, UK. E-mail: kondohm{at}cf.ac.uk
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E. S. Eveleigh, K. S. McCann, P. C. McCarthy, S. J. Pollock, C. J. Lucarotti, B. Morin, G. A. McDougall, D. B. Strongman, J. T. Huber, J. Umbanhowar, et al. (2007)
PNAS
104, 16976-16981
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A. P. Beckerman, O. L. Petchey, and P. H. Warren (2006)
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