The structure and dynamics of mutualistic and antagonistic networks
ABSTRACT
In natural communities, the organization of interactions between species often presents non-random patterns at the origin of complex network structures. Understanding the mechanisms which determine these complex networks, as well as the consequences of these structures on biodiversity persistence and ecosystem functioning, is an important challenge. There is growing evidence that network structure and related ecological and evolutionary dynamics might depend on interaction type (i.e., mutualistic or antagonistic). We review here some key findings on this issue, by focusing on the following questions: (i) To what extent does the structure of ecological networks, and its link with evolutionary history, depends on the type of interaction considered? (ii) How do these different structures affect ecosystem persistence and stability depending on the type of ecological interaction involved? (iii) Do evolutionary processes affect species persistence constraints and resulting network structures similarly in mutualistic and antagonistic networks?
We investigate these questions by using both theoretical approaches with dynamical models of interaction networks, and comparative approaches on empirical datasets describing plant-pollinator and plant-herbivore networks.
BIO-SKETCH
Elisa Thébault is a research scientist at CNRS, at the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris (Sorbonne University). Her research combines mathematical modelling and data analysis to study how the structure of species interaction networks affects ecosystem functioning and stability in response to global changes. More specifically, she is interested in :
(1) Combining different types of interactions (e.g. mutualistic and antagonistic interactions such as herbivory, pollination and parasitism, biotic and abiotic interactions involving nutrient dynamics) in the study of ecological networks;
(2) Linking network structure, species functional traits and ecosystem functioning ;
(3) Studying the effects of environmental changes on the structure of interaction networks and their consequences on ecosystems.