Food-web stability signals critical transitions in temperate shallow lakes

TY - JOUR

T1 - Food-web stability signals critical transitions in temperate shallow lakes

AU - Kuiper, Jan J.

AU - van Altena, Cassandra

AU - de Ruiter, P.C.

AU - Van Gerven, Luuk P.A.

AU - Janse, Jan H.

AU - Mooij, Wolf M.

N1 - 5889, AqE; Data Archiving: no data (model study)

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - A principal aim of ecologists is to identify critical levels of environmental change beyond which ecosystems undergo radical shifts in their functioning. Both food-web theory and alternative stable states theory provide fundamental clues to mechanisms conferring stability to natural systems. Yet, it is unclear how the concept of food-web stability is associated with the resilience of ecosystems susceptible to regime change. Here, we use a combination of food web and ecosystem modelling to show that impending catastrophic shifts in shallow lakes are preceded by a destabilizing reorganization of interaction strengths in the aquatic food web. Analysis of the intricate web of trophic interactions reveals that only few key interactions, involving zooplankton, diatoms and detritus, dictate the deterioration of food-web stability. Our study exposes a tight link between food-web dynamics and the dynamics of the whole ecosystem, implying that trophic organization may serve as an empirical indicator of ecosystem resilience.

AB - A principal aim of ecologists is to identify critical levels of environmental change beyond which ecosystems undergo radical shifts in their functioning. Both food-web theory and alternative stable states theory provide fundamental clues to mechanisms conferring stability to natural systems. Yet, it is unclear how the concept of food-web stability is associated with the resilience of ecosystems susceptible to regime change. Here, we use a combination of food web and ecosystem modelling to show that impending catastrophic shifts in shallow lakes are preceded by a destabilizing reorganization of interaction strengths in the aquatic food web. Analysis of the intricate web of trophic interactions reveals that only few key interactions, involving zooplankton, diatoms and detritus, dictate the deterioration of food-web stability. Our study exposes a tight link between food-web dynamics and the dynamics of the whole ecosystem, implying that trophic organization may serve as an empirical indicator of ecosystem resilience.

KW - national

U2 - 10.1038/ncomms8727

DO - 10.1038/ncomms8727

M3 - Article

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 6

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 7727

ER -