Abstract
The covariance among a range of 20 network structural properties of food webs plus net primary productivity was assessed for 14 published food webs using principal components analysis. Three primary components explained 84% of the variability in the data sets, suggesting substantial covariance among the properties employed in the literature. The first dimension explained 48% of the variance and could be ascribed to connectance, covarying significantly with the proportion of intermediate species and characteristic path length. The second dimension explained 19% and was related to trophic species richness. The third axis explained 17% and was related to ecosystem net primary productivity. A distinct opposite clustering of connectance, the proportion of intermediate species, and mean trophic level vs. the proportion of top and basal species and path length suggests a dichotomy in food-web structure. Food webs appear either clustered and highly interconnected or elongated with fewer links. © 2009 by the Ecological Society of America.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 278-282 |
Journal | Ecology |
Volume | 90 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2009 |
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Appendix A. Characterization of the 14 studied food webs.
Vermaat, J. E. (Contributor), Dunne, J. A. (Contributor) & Gilbert, A. J. (Contributor), Unknown Publisher, 1 Jan 2016
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.3530504.v1, https://wiley.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Appendix_A_Characterization_of_the_14_studied_food_webs_/3530504/1
Dataset / Software: Dataset