Far-ranging generalist top predators enhance the stability of meta-foodwebs


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thilo.gross [ at ] hifmb.de

Abstract

Identifying stabilizing factors in foodwebs is a long standing challenge with wide implications for community ecology and conservation. Here, we investigate the stability of spatially resolved meta-foodwebs with far-ranging super-predators for whom the whole meta-foodwebs appears to be a single habitat. By using a combination of generalized modeling with a master stability function approach, we are able to efficiently explore the asymptotic stability of large classes of realistic many-patch meta-foodwebs. We show that meta-foodwebs with far-ranging top predators are more stable than those with localized top predators. Moreover, adding far-ranging generalist top predators to a system can have a net stabilizing effect. These results highlight the importance of top predator conservation.



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Published
Eprint ID
58023
DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-48731-y

Cite as
Brechtel, A. , Gross, T. and Drossel, B. (2019): Far-ranging generalist top predators enhance the stability of meta-foodwebs , Scientific Reports, 9 (1), p. 12268 . doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-48731-y


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