Abstract
Macroscopic ecosystem studies often complete our knowledge based on population-level experiments and models. In this paper, the changed control of ecosystem functioning is reported by analyzing the structure of the energy flow network of a tidal marsh community (Crystal River, Florida). The positional importance of trophic components is characterized by a graph theoretical approach. Then, positional importance of points is compared to the magnitude of fitting carbon flows (i.e., the importance of links) and the congruency is expressed in percents. These results are presented for both an unperturbed (control) and a thermally stressed creek ecosystem of the river. The comparison of average congruency values for the two communities suggests that, first, trophic control may be stronger in the stressed community and, second, the reliability of carbon flows is also higher in the stressed ecosystem.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Abrams, P.A., B.A. Menge, G.G. Mittelbach, D.A. Spiller and P. Yodzis. 1996. The role of indirect effects in food webs. In: Polis, G.A. and Winemiller, K.O. (eds), Food Webs: Integration of Patterns and Dynamics. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 371–395.
Baird, D. and R.E. Ulanowicz. 1989. The seasonal dynamics of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Ecol. Monogr. 59: 329–364.
Bond, W.J. 1994. Keystone species. In: Schulze, E.D. and Mooney, H.A. (eds.), Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function. Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 237–253.
Briand, F. 1983. Environmental control of food web structure. Ecology 64: 253–263.
Cohen, J.E. 1978. Food Webs and Niche Space. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Cohen, J.E., R.A. Beaver, S.H. Cousins, D.L. De Angelis, L. Goldwasser, K.L. Heong, R.D. Holt, A.J. Kohn, J.H. Lawton, N.D. Martinez, R. O’Malley, L.M. Page, B.C. Patten, S.L. Pimm, G.A. Polis, M. Rejmánek, T.W. Schoener, K. Schoenly, W.G. Sprules, J.M. Teal, R.E. Ulanowicz, P.H. Warren, H.M. Wilbur and P. Yodzis. 1993. Improving food webs. Ecology 74: 252–258.
De Ruiter, P.C., A.-M. Neutel and J.C. Moore. 1996. Energetics and stability in belowground food webs. In: Polis, G.A. and Winemiller, K.O. (eds.), Food Webs: Integration of Patterns and Dynamics. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 201–210.
Goldwasser, L. and J. Roughgarden. 1993. Construction and analysis of a large Caribbean food web. Ecology 74: 1216–1233.
Harary, F. 1961. Who eats whom? Gen. Syst. 6: 41–44.
Hunter, M.D. and P.W. Price. 1992. Playing chutes and ladders: heterogeneity and the relative roles of bottom-up and top-down forces in natural communities. Ecology 73: 724–732.
Jordán, F. 2000. Seasonal changes in the positional importance of components in the trophic flow network of the Chesapeake Bay. J. Marine Syst. (in press).
Jordán, F. and I. Moinar. 1999. Reliable flows and preferred patterns in food webs. Evol. Ecol. Res. 1: 591–609.
Jordán, F., A. Takács-Sánta and I. Molnár. 1999. A reliability theoretical quest for keystones. Oikos 86: 453–462.
Margalef, R. 1968. Perspectives in Ecological Theory. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Martinez, N.D. 1991. Artifacts or attributes? Effects of resolution on the Little Rock Lake food web. Ecol. Monogr. 61: 367–392.
May, R.M. 1973. Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Menge, B.A. and J.P. Sutherland. 1976. Species diversity gradients: synthesis of the roles of predation, competition, and temporal heterogeneity. Am. Nat. 110: 351–369.
Mills, L.S., M.L. Soulé and D.F. Doak. 1993. The keystone-species concept in ecology and conservation. BioScience 43: 219–224.
Paine, R.T. 1969. A note on trophic complexity and community stability. Am. Nat. 103: 91–93.
Paine, R.T. 1980. Food webs: linkage, interaction strength and community infrastructure. J. Anim. Ecol. 49: 667–685.
Paine, R.T. 1992. Food-web analysis through field measurement of per capita interaction strength. Nature 355: 73–75.
Pimm, S.L. 1982. Food Webs. Chapman and Hall, London.
Polis, G.A. 1991. Complex trophic interactions in deserts: an empirical critique of food web theory. Am. Nat. 138: 123–155.
Porter, K.G. 1996. Integrating the microbial loop and the classic food chain into a realistic planktonic food web. In: Polis, G.A. and Winemiller, K.O. (eds.). Food Webs: Integration of Patterns and Dynamics. Chapman and Hall, London. pp. 51–59.
Power, M. E., D. Tilman, J.A. Estes, B.A. Menge, W.J. Bond, L.S. Mills, G. Daily, J.C. Castilla, J. Lubchenco and R.T. Paine. 1996. Challenges in the quest for keystones. BioScience 46: 609–620.
Schoener, T.W. 1983. Field experiments on interspecific competition. Am. Nat. 122: 240–285.
Ulanowicz, R.E. 1983. Identifying the structure of cycling in ecosystems. Math. Biosci. 65: 219–237.
Ulanowicz, R.E. 1984. Community measures of marine food networks and their possible applications. In: Fasham, M.J.R. (ed.), Flows of Energy and Materials in Marine Ecosystems. Plenum Press, London, pp. 23–47.
Ulanowicz, R.E. 1986. Growth and Development: Ecosystems Phenomenology. Springer, Berlin.
Ulanowicz, R.E. 1996. Trophic flow networks as indicators of ecosystem stress. In: Polis, G.A. and Winemiller, K.O. (eds.), Food Webs: Integration of Patterns and Dynamics. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 358–368.
Ulanowicz, R.E. and C.J. Puccia. 1990. Mixed trophic impacts in ecosystems. Coenoses 5: 7–16.
Ulanowicz, R.E. and D. Baird. 1999. Nutrient controls on ecosystem dynamics: the Chesapeake mesohaline community. J. Marine Syst. 19: 159–172.
Warren, P.H. 1989. Spatial and temporal variation in the structure of a freshwater food web. Oikos 55: 299–311.
Winemiller, K.O. 1996. Factors driving temporal and spatial variation in aquatic floodplain food webs. In: Polis, G.A. and Winemiller, K.O. (eds.). Food Webs: Integration of Patterns and Dynamics. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 298–312.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
About this article
Cite this article
Jordán, F. Is the role of trophic control larger in a stressed ecosystem?. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY 1, 139–146 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1556/ComEc.1.2000.2.3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/ComEc.1.2000.2.3