The History of Ecological Networks

2018 ◽  
pp. 15-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Ings ◽  
Joseph E. Hawes
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Networks ◽  
History Of

scholarly journals Macroevolutionary imprints on the assembly of frugivory networks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Burin ◽  
Paulo R. Guimarães ◽  
Tiago B. Quental
Keyword(s):  
Interaction Network ◽  
Ecological Networks ◽  
Species Number ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Biological Interactions ◽  
Deep Time ◽  
Interacting Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
Current Interaction ◽  
Biodiversity Changes

Biological interactions are a key aspect of ecological communities (Delmas et al., 2018). Current interaction network structures are snapshots of dynamic processes of community assembly (Thompson, 2005), and represent the product of the evolutionary history of interacting species over millions of years. Thus, assessing the deep time mechanisms affecting the assembly of ecological networks are key to better understand biodiversity changes in broader time scales (Jablonski, 2008). Here we integrate tools from macroevolutionary studies with network science to show that more central species in frugivory networks belong to lineages with higher macroevolutionary stability. This association is more pronounced in warmer, wetter, less seasonal environments, which highlights the role of environmental factors in shaping ecological networks. Furthermore, our results suggest that these environments possess a more diverse (either in species number or ecology) assemblage of species that can be sorted during network assembly. Lastly, we found evidence that the macro-evolutionary contribution to network stability changes in geographical space. This reinforces the idea that the macroevolutionary sorting mechanism acts at the regional pool of species, rather than selecting absolute paces of diversification. Hence our results suggest an interplay between ecological roles and diversification regimes in shaping the fate of lineages of plants and seed dispersing birds.

scholarly journals The origin and early evolution of arthropods

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cédric Aria
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Ecological Networks ◽  
Early Evolution ◽  
Cambrian Explosion ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
History Of ◽  
Patterns And Processes

The rise of arthropods is a decisive event in the history of life. Likely the first animals to have established themselves on land and in the air, arthropods have pervaded nearly all ecosystems and have become pillars of the planet’s ecological networks. Forerunners of this epopee, exceptionally-preserved Palaeozoic fossils recently discovered or re-discovered thanks to new approaches and techniques have elucidated the precocious appearance of extant lineages at the onset of the Cambrian explosion, and pointed to the critical role of the plankton and hard integuments in early arthropod diversification. Despite new interpretative challenges, phylogenetic advances based on palaeontological evidence open the prospect of finally using the full potential of the most diverse animal phylum to investigate macroevolutionary patterns and processes.

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