Ecological networks articles from across Nature Portfolio

A cross-biome meta-analysis of microbial occurrence data in more than 5000 samples suggest that microbial community assembly is driven by universal principles that operate consistently across different biomes and taxonomic groups.

Species interaction data, a field experiment and modelling of plant–insect communities show that landscapes with more habitat types support more even species, more complementary interactions, are more consistently robust to species loss, and confer greater pollination function.

This Perspective discusses using long-term ecological research networks to advance our understanding of fundamental evolutionary processes and evolutionary responses to global change.

Generalism is often assumed to be a cause of species success. This analysis of mutualistic, commensalistic and parasitic interactions supports the alternative causal hypothesis that generalism is the consequence of ecological success.

Climate warming can impact predators directly as well as indirectly by affecting their prey and habitat. How predators respond to such changes is largely unknown. Now, experimental work shows the ability of spiders to adjust their webs in response to warming-induced changes in plant communities that alter prey size distributions.

Species co-occurrences have long been used as proxies for interactions, but not all co-occurring species interact. A study now reveals that super-generalist consumers realize a higher portion of their potential interactions in bipartite networks.

Causal links between plankton taxa were inferred using long-term data from ten Swiss lakes, revealing the effect of warming and nutrient levels on entire ecological networks. The resulting model suggests that warming generally reduces the number of network interactions and alters which taxa control the food webs.

A study of plant–pollinator networks in a fragmented island landscape in China finds that habitat edges might not be bad for biodiversity.

Co-culture systems produce more food per land unit — offering a sustainable solution to food security. The first step may lie in optimizing for diverse species interaction networks, much like the way engineers design manufacturing systems for optimal productivity.

Chemical and pathogenic hazards in aquaculture supply chains threaten the provision of safe aquatic food. The Seafood Risk Tool is an integrated, semi-quantitative system that develops bespoke supply chain and risk management strategies.