What question did this study set out to answer?

Determine whether body mass distributions, cumulative degree distributions, and allometric relationships between body size and trophic link structure differ systematically across major ecosystem types.

March 23, 2011Oikos

Body sizes, cumulative and allometric degree distributions across natural food webs

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Authors

CDChristoph DigelGerman Environment Agency JRJens RiedeBerufsgenossenschaft für Gesundheitsdienst und Wohlfahrtspflege UBUlrich BroseGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research

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Implication

Cross-ecosystem network analysis reveals consistent allometric degree distributions across global food webs, indicating body mass strongly constrains trophic architecture.

Key Points

Determine whether body mass distributions, cumulative degree distributions, and allometric relationships between body size and trophic link structure differ systematically across major ecosystem types.
Analyzed a global database of 94 food webs spanning four ecosystem types: 17 terrestrial, 7 marine, 54 lake, and 16 stream networks.
Evaluated species body-mass distributions, cumulative degree distributions (vulnerability, generality, linkedness), and allometric degree-to-mass scaling across networks.
Across analyzed networks, increasing body mass associated with significant decreases in vulnerability in 70% of food webs and significant increases in generality in 80% of food webs.
Most networks displayed exponential cumulative degree distributions, whereas stream food webs predominantly exhibited uniform cumulative degree distributions.
Allometric degree distribution slopes relating body mass to feeding links were roughly three times steeper in stream ecosystems than in terrestrial, marine, or lake ecosystems.

Cite This Study

Digel et al. (2011) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9313895e20abc4e3701b1f https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18862.x

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Implication

Cross-ecosystem network analysis reveals consistent allometric degree distributions across global food webs, indicating body mass strongly constrains trophic architecture.

Body sizes, cumulative and allometric degree distributions across natural food webs

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Body sizes, cumulative and allometric degree distributions across natural food webs

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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