Understanding the role of parasites in food webs using the group model

Michalska‐Smith, Matthew; Sander, Elizabeth L.; Pascual, Mercedes; Allesina, Stefano

doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12782

Cited by 19 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Recently in Ecology (26; 27; 28; 29; 30), some authors have suggested the use of statistical methods which jointly infer structural properties and species positions. Originally developed in the field of social sciences (31), Stochastic Block Models (SBM; 32; 33)—also called Group Models in the seminal work by Allesina and Pascual (27)—aim at grouping nodes (species in our case) that are statistically equivalent, “acting” similarly in the network, i.e ., having an equivalent “structural position”.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal switching of species roles in a plant–pollinator network

Miele

Ramos‐Jiliberto

Vázquez

2019

Preprint

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1Mutualistic networks are highly dynamic, characterized by high temporal turnover of species 2 and interactions. Yet, we have a limited understanding of how the internal structure of 3 these networks and the roles species play in them vary through time. We used six years of 4 observation data and a novel statistical method (dynamic stochastic block models) to assess 5 how network structure and species' structural position within the network change across 6 time in a quantitative plant-pollinator network from a dryland ecosystem in Argentina. Our 7 analyses revealed a core-periphery structure persistent through seasons and years. Yet, 8 species structural position as core or peripheral were highly dynamic: virtually all species 9 that were at the core in some seasons were also peripheral in other seasons, while many 10 other species remained always peripheral. Our results illuminate our understanding of the 11 dynamics of ecological networks and have important implications for ecosystem management 12 and conservation. 13Keywords: core-periphery structure, stochastic block model, mutualistic networks, plant-14 pollinator interactions, species role, temporal dynamics 15 Studies of plant-animal mutualisms have historically focused on the interactions between 17 one or a few plant species and their animal mutualists (1; 2). This approach guided decades 18 of research, illuminating our understanding of the natural history, ecology and evolution of 19 plant-animal mutualisms, but at the same time limiting our understanding of how interac-20 tions operate in their broader community context (3). More recently, the use of a network 21 approach to study of plant-animal mutualistic interactions in their community context has 22 offered new insights on the relative specialization and reciprocal dependence of these in-23 teractions and, ultimately, the ecological and evolutionary processes that depend on them 24 (4; 3; 5; 6). The study of mutualistic networks has revealed several pervasive properties, 25 including nestedness (7), modularity (8), and asymmetry in both specialization (9) and inter-26 action strength (10), all of which are believed to have important ecological and evolutionary 27 implications (11; 12; 6; 13). 28Mutualistic networks are also characterized by high temporal variability, with species and 29 interactions switching on and off through time. In other words, these networks exhibit high 30 temporal turnover of species and interactions (14; 15; 16), in spite of an apparent stability in 31 some aggregate network attributes such as connectance and nestedness (14; 17). Past studies 32 have shown that the most persistent interactions are those located at the network core (the 33 most densely connected region of the network), which usually involves abundant, frequently 34 interacting species, and many occasional peripheral species (16; 18). What we still don't 35 know is the extent to which the structural position of individual species as core or peripheral 36 varies through time. In other words, is there a...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal switching of species roles in a plant–pollinator network

Miele

Ramos‐Jiliberto

Vázquez

2019

Preprint

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“…2015 for details and Michalska‐Smith et al . 2018 for updated version of the code). For both the metaweb and each subregion, the algorithm was executed 10 times, each with a random seed, 300 000 MCMC steps and 20 MCMC chains.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial resolution and location impact group structure in a marine food web

Ohlsson

Eklöf

2020

Ecology Letters

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Ecological processes in food webs depend on species interactions. By identifying broad-scaled interaction patterns, important information on species' ecological roles may be revealed. Here, we use the group model to examine how spatial resolution and proximity influence group structure. We examine a data set from the Barents Sea, with food webs described for both the whole region and 25 subregions. We test how the group structure in the networks differ comparing (1) the regional metaweb to subregions and (2) subregion to subregion. We find that more than half the species in the metaweb change groups when compared to subregions. Between subregions, networks with similar group structure are spatially related. Interestingly, although species overlap is important for similarity in group structure, there are notable exceptions. Our results highlight that species ecological roles vary depending on fine-scaled differences in the patterns of interactions, and that local network characteristics are important to consider.

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“…Similarly, killifish infected with trematodes which encyst their brains were preyed on significantly more frequently by herons, the definitive host, than were uninfected fish [7]. By affecting host population growth and the behaviour of hosts that make them more vulnerable to predation, parasites have important impacts on food webs [15,[122][123][124][125][126], with potentially destabilizing effects for ecosystems. Addressing how behavioural changes owing to parasitic infections at lower trophic levels may affect higher levels of the food chain is therefore important to assess the resilience of an ecosystem to environmental change.…”

Section: (D) Parasite Manipulation Of Host Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural ecology and infectious disease: implications for conservation of biodiversity

Herrera

Nunn

2019

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Behaviour underpins interactions among conspecifics and between species, with consequences for the transmission of disease-causing parasites. Because many parasites lead to declines in population size and increased risk of extinction for threatened species, understanding the link between host behaviour and disease transmission is particularly important for conservation management. Here, we consider the intersection of behaviour, ecology and parasite transmission, broadly encompassing micro- and macroparasites. We focus on behaviours that have direct impacts on transmission, as well as the behaviours that result from infection. Given the important role of parasites in host survival and reproduction, the effects of behaviour on parasitism can scale up to population-level processes, thus affecting species conservation. Understanding how conservation and infectious disease control strategies actually affect transmission potential can therefore often only be understood through a behavioural lens. We highlight how behavioural perspectives of disease ecology apply to conservation by reviewing the different ways that behavioural ecology influences parasite transmission and conservation goals. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Linking behaviour to dynamics of populations and communities: application of novel approaches in behavioural ecology to conservation’.

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Understanding the role of parasites in food webs using the group model

Cited by 19 publications

References 38 publications

Temporal switching of species roles in a plant–pollinator network

Temporal switching of species roles in a plant–pollinator network

Spatial resolution and location impact group structure in a marine food web

Behavioural ecology and infectious disease: implications for conservation of biodiversity

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