Biology subjects

Rodriguez-Echeverria, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Rodriguez-Echeverria, S..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

The architecture of multifunctional ecological networks

Understanding how biotic interactions affect ecosystem functioning has been a research priority in natural sciences due to their critical role in bolstering ecological resilience1-3. Yet, traditional assessment of ecological complexity typically focus on species-species effective interactions that mediate a particular function (e.g. pollination4 or seed dispersal5), overlooking the synergistic effect of multiple functions that further underpin species-function and function-function interactions in multifunctional ecosystems. At the same time, while ecological network theory holds a potential to quantify the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality6, 7, its connection has been done mainly conceptually, due to challenges measuring different interactions and establishing their relevance across multiple niche dimensions8, 9. Such lack of quantitative studies therefore limits our ability to determine which species and interactions are important to maintain the multiple functions of ecosystems10. Here we develop a framework -derived from a resource-consumer-function tensor analysis-that bridges these gaps by framing biodiversity-ecosystem multifunctionality in terms of multilayer ecological network theory. Its application to recently collected ecological data -- reporting weighted interactions between plants, animals and fungi across multiple function types--allows to (i) unveil and quantify the existence of both (multi-functional) keystone species and a dual function keystoneness pattern, and (ii) project plants and functions into a similarity space where clear clusters emerge and the importance of weak links is manifested. This dual insight from species and functional perspectives will better guide conservation efforts to reduce biodiversity loss.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Tripartite networks show that keystone species can multitask

Keystone species are disproportionately important for ecosystem functioning (1,2). However, while all species engage in multiple interaction types with other species, the importance of keystone species is often defined based on a single dimension of their Eltonian niche (3), that is, one type of interaction (e.g., keystone predator). Therefore, it remains unclear whether the importance of keystone species is unidimensional or if it extends across interaction types. We conducted a meta-analysis of tripartite interaction networks to examine whether species importance in one dimension of their niche is mirrored in other niche dimensions, and whether this is associated with interaction outcome, intimacy, or species richness. We show that keystone species importance is positively associated across multiple ecological niche dimensions, independently of species abundance, and find no evidence that multidimensionality of keystone species is influenced by the explanatory variables. We propose that the role of keystone species extends across multiple ecological niche dimensions, with important implications for ecosystem resilience and conservation. Significance StatementKeystone species are often identified by focusing on a single type of interaction (e.g., predation, pollination, herbivory) which contrasts with the multiple roles that species play in biological communities. We conducted a meta-analysis of 18 tripartite interaction networks to explore if keystonness is correlated across the multiple dimensions of species Eltonian niches. Our results suggest that species importance tends to span across multiple interaction types, independently from abundance, which can be key to understand community resilience and collapse in face of multiple threats.

ecology↗