An interaction switch predicts the nested architecture of mutualistic networks

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorZhang F.
dc.contributor.authorHui C.
dc.contributor.authorTerblanche J.S.
dc.date.accessioned2011-10-13T16:58:17Z
dc.date.available2011-10-13T16:58:17Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractNested architecture is distinctive in plant-animal mutualistic networks. However, to date an integrative and quantitative explanation has been lacking. It is evident that species often switch their interactive partners in real-world mutualistic networks such as pollination and seed-dispersal networks. By incorporating an interaction switch into a novel multi-population model, we show that the nested architecture rapidly emerges from an initially random network. The model allowing interaction switches between partner species produced predictions which fit remarkably well with observations from 81 empirical networks. Thus, the nested architecture in mutualistic networks could be an intrinsic physical structure of dynamic networks and the interaction switch is likely a key ecological process that results in nestedness of real-world networks. Identifying the biological processes responsible for network structures is thus crucial for understanding the architecture of ecological networks. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.
dc.description.versionArticle
dc.identifier.citationEcology Letters
dc.identifier.citation14
dc.identifier.citation8
dc.identifier.citationhttp://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-79960417418&partnerID=40&md5=a24b72412a113554a8c950971a551a5c
dc.identifier.issn1461023X
dc.identifier.other10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01647.x
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/16675
dc.subjectAbundance
dc.subjectAdaptive behaviour
dc.subjectAntagonistic network
dc.subjectDynamic network
dc.subjectFunctional response
dc.subjectMorphological trait
dc.subjectNestedness
dc.subjectNetwork size
dc.subjectPollination
dc.subjectSeed disperser
dc.subjectabundance
dc.subjectadaptation
dc.subjectantagonism
dc.subjectfunctional response
dc.subjectinterspecific interaction
dc.subjectmorphology
dc.subjectnestedness
dc.subjectpollination
dc.subjectseed dispersal
dc.subjectsocial network
dc.subjectAnimalia
dc.titleAn interaction switch predicts the nested architecture of mutualistic networks
dc.typeArticle
Files
Collections
Stellenbosch University - Scopus Publications