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Food Web: Concept and Applications

Introduction

There are two types of food chains: the grazing food chain, beginning with autotrophs, and the detrital food chain, beginning with dead organic matter (Smith & Smith 2009). In a grazing food chain, energy and nutrients move from plants to the herbivores consuming them, and to the carnivores or omnivores preying upon the herbivores. In a detrital food chain, dead organic matter of plants and animals is broken down by decomposers, e.g., bacteria and fungi, and moves to detritivores and then carnivores.

Food web offers an important tool for investigating the ecological interactions that define energy flows and predator-prey relationship (Cain et al. 2008). Figure 1 shows a simplified food web in a desert ecosystem. In this food web, grasshoppers feed on plants; scorpions prey on grasshoppers; kit foxes prey on scorpions. While the food web showed here is a simple one, most feed webs are complex and involve many species with both strong and weak interactions among them (Pimm et al. 1991). For example, the predators of a scorpion in a desert ecosystem might be a golden eagle, an owl, a roadrunner, or a fox.

The idea to apply the food chains to ecology and to analyze its consequences was first proposed by Charles Elton (Krebs 2009). In 1927, he recognized that the length of these food chains was mostly limited to 4 or 5 links and the food chains were not isolated, but hooked together into food webs (which he called "food cycles"). The feeding interactions represented by the food web may have profound effects on species richness of community, and ecosystem productivity and stability (Ricklefs 2008).

Types of Food Webs

Applications of food webs, food webs are constructed to describe species interactions (direct relationships)..

The fundamental purpose of food webs is to describe feeding relationship among species in a community. Food webs can be constructed to describe the species interactions. All species in the food webs can be distinguished into basal species (autotrophs, such as plants), intermediate species (herbivores and intermediate level carnivores, such as grasshopper and scorpion) or top predators (high level carnivores such as fox) (Figure 1).

These feeding groups are referred as trophic levels. Basal species occupy the lowest trophic level as primary producer. They convert inorganic chemical and use solar energy to generate chemical energy. The second trophic level consists of herbivores. These are first consumers. The remaining trophic levels include carnivores that consume animals at trophic levels below them. The second consumers (trophic level 3) in the desert food web include birds and scorpions, and tertiary consumers making up the fourth trophic level include bird predators and foxes. Grouping all species into different functional groups or tropic levels helps us simplify and understand the relationships among these species.

Food webs can be used to illustrate indirect interactions among species.

Indirect interaction occurs when two species do not interact with each other directly, but influenced by a third species. Species can influence one another in many different ways. One example is the keystone predation are demonstrated by Robert Paine in an experiment conducted in the rocky intertidal zone (Cain et al. 2008; Smith & Smith 2009; Molles 2010). This study showed that predation can influence the competition among species in a food web. The intertidal zone is home to a variety of mussels, barnacles, limpets, and chitons (Paine 1969). All these invertebrate herbivores are preyed upon by the predator starfish Pisaster (Figure 3). Starfish was relatively uncommon in the intertidal zone, and considered less important in the community. When Paine manually removed the starfish from experimental plots while leaving other areas undisturbed as control plots, he found that the number of prey species in the experimental plots dropped from 15 at the beginning of the experiment to 8 (a loss of 7 species) two years after the starfish removal while the total of prey species remained the same in the control plots. He reasoned that in the absence of the predator starfish, several of the mussel and barnacle species (that were superior competitors) excluded the other species and reduced overall diversity in the community (Smith & Smith 2009). Predation by starfish reduced the abundance of mussel and opened up space for other species to colonize and persist. This type of indirect interaction is called keystone predation.

Food webs can be used to study bottom-up or top-down control of community structure.

Top-down control occurs when the population density of a consumer can control that of its resource, for example, predator populations can control the abundance of prey species (Power 1992). Under top-down control, the abundance or biomass of lower trophic levels depends on effects from consumers at higher trophic levels. A trophic cascade is a type of top-down interaction that describes the indirect effects of predators. In a trophic cascade, predators induce effects that cascade down the food chain and affect biomass of organisms at least two links away (Ricklefs 2008). Nelson Hairston, Frederick Smith and Larry Slobodkin first introduced the concept of top-down control with the frequently quoted "the world is green" proposition (Power 1992; Smith & Smith 2009). They proposed that the world is green because carnivores depress herbivores and keep herbivore populations in check. Otherwise, herbivores would consume most of the vegetation. Indeed, a bird exclusion study demonstrated that there were significantly more insects and leaf damage in plots without birds compared to the control (Marquis & Whelan 1994).

Food webs can be used to reveal different patterns of energy transfer in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

As a diagram tool, food web has been approved to be effective in illustrating species interactions and testing research hypotheses. It will continue to be very helpful for us to understand the associations of species richness/diversity with food web complexity, ecosystem productivity, and stability.

References and Recommended Reading

Cain, M. L., Bowman, W. D. & Hacker, S. D. Ecology . Sunderland MA: Sinauer Associate Inc. 2008.

Cebrian, J. Patterns in the fate of production in plant communities. American Naturalist 154 , 449-468 (1999)

Cebrian, J. Role of first-order consumers in ecosystem carbon flow. Ecology Letters 7 , 232-240 (2004)

Elton, C. S. Animal Ecology . Chicago, MI: University of Chicago Press, 1927, Republished 2001.

Knight, T. M., et al. Trophic cascades across ecosystems. Nature 437 , 880-883 (2005)

Krebs, C. J. Ecology 6 th ed. San Francisco CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings, 2009.

Marquis, R. J. & Whelan, C. Insectivorous birds increase growth of white oak through consumption of leaf-chewing insects. Ecology 75 , 2007-2017 (1994)

Molles, M. C. Jr. Ecology: Concepts and Applications 5 th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2010.

Paine, R. T. The Pisaster-Tegula interaction: Prey parches, predator food preferences and intertide community structure. Ecology 60 , 950-961 (1969)

Paine, R. T. Food web complexity and species diversity. The American Naturalist 100 , 65-75 (1966)

Paine, R. T. Food webs: Linkage, interaction strength and community infrastructure. Journal of Animal Ecology 49 , 667-685 (1980)

Pimm, S. L., Lawton, J. H. & Cohen, J. E. Food web patterns and their consequences. Nature 350 , 669-674 (1991)

Power, M. E. Top-down and bottom-up forces in food webs: do plants have primacy? Ecology 73 , 733-746 (1992)

Schoender, T. W. Food webs from the small to the large. Ecology 70 , 1559-1589 (1989)

Shurin, J. B., Gruner, D. S. & Hillebrand, H. All wet dried up? Real differences between aquatic and terrestrial food webs. Proc. R. Soc. B 273 , 1-9 (2006) doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3377

Smith, T. M. & Smith, R. L. Elements of Ecology 7 th ed. San Francisco CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings, 2009.

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What Is a Food Web? Definition, Types, and Examples

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Food Web Definition

Trophic levels in a food web, energy movement, food web vs. food chain, types of food webs, importance of the study of food webs.

A food web is a detailed interconnecting diagram that shows the overall food relationships between organisms in a particular environment. It can be described as a "who eats whom" diagram that shows the complex feeding relationships for a particular ecosystem.

The study of food webs is important, as such webs can show how energy flows through an ecosystem . It also helps us understand how toxins and pollutants become concentrated within a particular ecosystem. Examples include mercury bioaccumulation in the Florida Everglades and mercury accumulation in the San Francisco Bay.

Food webs can also help us study and explain how the diversity of species is related to how they fit within the overall food dynamic. They may also reveal critical information about the relationships between invasive species and those native to a particular ecosystem.

Key Takeaways: What Is a Food Web?

A food web can be described as a "who eats whom" diagram that shows the complex feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
The interconnectedness of how organisms are involved in energy transfer within an ecosystem is vital to understanding food webs and how they apply to real-world science.
The increase in toxic substances, like man-made persistent organic pollutants (POPs), can have a profound impact on species within an ecosystem.
By analyzing food webs, scientists are able to study and predict how substances move through the ecosystem to help prevent the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of harmful substances.

The concept of a food web, previously known as a food cycle, is typically credited to Charles Elton, who first introduced it in his book Animal Ecology, published in 1927. He is considered one of the founders of modern ecology and his book is a seminal work. He also introduced other important ecological concepts like niche and succession in this book.

In a food web, organisms are arranged according to their trophic level. The trophic level for an organism refers to how it fits within the overall food web and is based on how an organism feeds.

Broadly speaking, there are two main designations: autotrophs and heterotrophs. Autotrophs make their own food while heterotrophs do not. Within this broad designation, there are five main trophic levels: primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and apex predators

A food web shows us how these different trophic levels within various food chains interconnect with one another as well as the flow of energy through the trophic levels within an ecosystem.

Primary producers make their own food via photosynthesis. Photosynthesis uses the sun's energy to make food by converting its light energy into chemical energy. Primary producer examples include plants and algae. These organisms are also known as autotrophs.

Primary consumers are those animals that eat the primary producers. They are called primary as they are the first organisms to eat the primary producers who make their own food. These animals are also known as herbivores. Examples of animals in this designation are rabbits, beavers, elephants , and moose.

Secondary consumers consist of organisms that eat primary consumers. Since they eat the animals that eat the plants, these animals are carnivorous or omnivorous. Carnivores eat animals while omnivores consume both other animals as well as plants. Bears are an example of a secondary consumer.

Similar to secondary consumers, tertiary consumers can be carnivorous or omnivorous. The difference is that secondary consumers eat other carnivores. An example is an eagle.

Lastly, the final level is composed of apex predators . Apex predators are at the top because they do not have natural predators. Lions are an example.

Additionally, organisms known as decomposers consume dead plants and animals and break them down. Fungi are examples of decomposers. Other organisms known as detritivores consume dead organic material. An example of a detrivore is a vulture.

Energy flows through the different trophic levels. It begins with the energy from the sun that autotrophs use to produce food. This energy is transferred up the levels as the different organisms are consumed by members of the levels that are above them.

Approximately 10% of the energy that is transferred from one trophic level to the next is converted to biomass—the overall mass of an organism or the mass of all the organisms that exist in a given trophic level.

Since organisms expend energy to move around and go about their daily activities, only a part of the energy consumed is stored as biomass.

VectorMine / Getty Images

While a food web contains all constituent food chains in an ecosystem, food chains are a different construct. A food web can be composed of multiple food chains, some that can be very short, while others may be much longer. Food chains follow the flow of energy as it moves through the food chain. The starting point is the energy from the sun and this energy is traced as it moves through the food chain. This movement is typically linear, from one organism to another.

For example, a short food chain may consist of plants that use the sun's energy to produce their own food through photosynthesis along with the herbivore that consumes these plants. This herbivore may be eaten by two different carnivores which are a part of this food chain. When these carnivores are killed or die, the decomposers in the chain break down the carnivores, returning nutrients to the soil that can be used by plants.

This brief chain is one of many parts of the overall food web that exists in an ecosystem. Other food chains in the food web for this particular ecosystem may be very similar to this example or may be much different.

Since it is composed of all of the food chains in an ecosystem, the food web will show how the organisms in an ecosystem interconnect with one another.

Blueringmedia / Getty Images

There are a number of different types of food webs, which differ in how they are constructed and what they show or emphasize in relation to the organisms within the particular ecosystem depicted.

Scientists can use connectance and interaction food webs along with energy flow, fossil, and functional food webs to depict different aspects of the relationships within an ecosystem. Scientists can also further classify the types of food webs based on what ecosystem is being depicted in the web.

Connectance Food Webs

In a connectance food web, scientists use arrows to show one species being consumed by another species. All of the arrows are equally weighted. The degree of strength of the consumption of one species by another is not depicted.

Interaction Food Webs

Similar to connectance food webs, scientists also use arrows in interaction food webs to show one species being consumed by another species. However, the arrows used are weighted to show the degree or strength of consumption of one species by another.

The arrows depicted in such arrangements can be wider, bolder, or darker to denote the strength of consumption if one species typically consumes another. If the interaction between species is very weak, the arrow can be very narrow or not present.

Energy Flow Food Webs

Energy flow food webs depict the relationships between organisms in an ecosystem by quantifying and showing the energy flux between organisms.

Fossil Food Webs

Food webs can be dynamic and the food relationships within an ecosystem change over time. In a fossil food web, scientists attempt to reconstruct the relationships between species based on available evidence from the fossil record.

Functional Food Webs

Functional food webs depict the relationships between organisms in an ecosystem by depicting how different populations influence the growth rate of other populations within the environment.

Food Webs and Type of Ecosystems

Scientists can also subdivide the above types of food webs based on the type of ecosystem. For example, an energy flow aquatic food web would depict the energy flux relationships in an aquatic environment, while an energy flow terrestrial food web would show such relationships on land.

Food webs show us how energy moves through an ecosystem from the sun to producers to consumers. This interconnectedness of how organisms are involved in this energy transfer within an ecosystem is a vital element to understanding food webs and how they apply to real-world science.

Just as energy can move through an ecosystem, other substances can move through as well. When toxic substances or poisons are introduced into an ecosystem, there can be devastating effects.

Bioaccumulation and biomagnification are important concepts. Bioaccumulation is the accumulation of a substance, like poison or a contaminant, in an animal. Biomagnification refers to the buildup and increase in the concentration of said substance as it is passed from trophic level to trophic level in a food web.

This increase in toxic substances can have a profound impact on species within an ecosystem. For example, man-made synthetic chemicals often do not break down easily or quickly and can build up in an animal's fatty tissues over time. These substances are known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

Marine environments are common examples of how these toxic substances can move from phytoplankton to zooplankton, then to fish that eat the zooplankton, then to other fish (like salmon) who eat those fish, and all the way up to orca who eat salmon. Orcas have a high blubber content so the POPs can be found at very high levels. These levels can cause a number of issues like reproductive problems, developmental issues with their young as well as immune system issues.

By analyzing and understanding food webs, scientists are able to study and predict how substances may move through the ecosystem. They are then better able to help prevent the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of these toxic substances in the environment through intervention.

“ Food Webs and Networks: the Architecture of Biodiversity .” Life Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Biology Department.
“ 11.4: Food Chains and Food Webs .” Geosciences LibreTexts , Libretexts.
“ Terrestrial Food Webs .” Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
“ Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification: Increasingly Concentrated Problems! ” CIMI School.
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ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

A food web is a detailed description of the species within a community and their relationships with each other; it shows how energy is transferred up food chains that are interlinked with other food chains.

Biology, Ecology

Deer Eating Leaves

A white tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) eating leaves from a bush in Ottawa, Canada. Deer are key members of the food web.

Photograph by: Jim Cumming/Alamy Stock Photo

A food web is all of the interactions between the species within a community that involve the transfer of energy through consumption. A food web incorporates different food chains within an environment. These types of interactions occur between producer and consumer , and between predator and prey .

The transfer of energy starts with plants. Plants are able to convert sunlight into a chemical form of energy through the process of photosynthesis . One of the end products of photosynthesis is glucose , a sugar in which energy is stored. Plants are called producers because they produce their own energy without consuming another organism .

Animals are called consumers; they must consume plants and other animals to obtain energy. Animals that feed only on plants are called herbivores , or primary consumers, since they eat producers. Animals that feed on other animals are called carnivores . They are called secondary consumers if they eat primary consumers. Another kind of secondary consumer is an omnivore , which is an animal that feeds on both plants and other animals. Any animal that hunts and feeds on other animals is called a predator, and the animals that predators feed on are called prey. All carnivores are predators, and herbivores—and sometimes omnivores or other carnivores—are their prey.

Energy moves up a food chain, starting with plants, then moving up through herbivores , and then carnivores . A fourth group of organisms called decomposers breaks down the organic matter left behind by these other organisms , like dead animals or plants. Organisms within each group gain energy by feeding on the organisms in the group below them on the food chain. The top predator of a food chain is the carnivore within the community that does not have any predators of its own. When the top predator dies, their remains are broken down by decomposers —bacteria and fungi. Decomposers return nutrients back to soil to help restart the food chain.

An example of a marine food chain starts with seaweed as the producer , which is then fed on by zooplankton . From there, crustaceans will consume the zooplankton , and larger fish will consume the crustaceans . At this point, the fish will be eaten by squids, and finally, the squids will be devoured by sharks. Sharks are a top predator with no predators of their own, so they are at the top of the food chain.

The amount of available energy decreases as it moves up the food chain. This is because only plants are able to produce energy in the first place, and at each step of the food chain energy is lost in the form of heat as the organism maintains their body and performs daily functions.

Since a food web is representative of an entire community, it will consist of multiple food chains that are intertwined. There are usually multiple predator species that feed on a particular prey species, and one predator species usually feeds on multiple prey species. The same goes for the relationship between plants and herbivores.

A food web describes the many species and interactions within an ecosystem. Mapping these interactions can show us how an entire ecosystem could fall apart if it loses even one species.

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Food Chains (and Food Webs Introduction) (PowerPoint)

Subject: Biology

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Other

Last updated

22 February 2018

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Biology Article

All processes in this world, whether living or non-living, need energy. Living organisms are capable of producing energy or getting it through predation. They need this energy to maintain cells and tissues. It is also required for supporting voluntary and involuntary actions of the human body and other multiple processes within the body like reproduction, cell division, metabolism, digestion, circulation, excretion, and much more.

The ultimate source of energy on Earth is the Sun. No energy can be produced without the sun. All living beings, especially plants capture solar energy and utilise it for their food production. This process is called photosynthesis.

What is Food Web?

There are unique interactions and relationships which are involved in the transportation of energy. The energy, once produced and captured, is distributed throughout the various living organisms. This transfer of energy is termed as the food web.

What is the Food Chain?

A food chain is a network of links in a food web. Here, the producers are consumed by the predators-primary and secondary consumers and then the detritivores and finally by decomposers. When many such individual food chains occur in an ecosystem , it is known as Food Web.

A food chain shows a direct transfer of energy between organisms. As every organism can feed on multiple things, a food web is a much more realistic and simplified method of transferring energy in an ecosystem.

Both food chains and food webs are similar to each other, but they are not the same. We will explore the differences here.

A food chain presents a unique, connected path of energy flow in an ecosystem, whereas the food web explains how food chains overlap. Both food chains and food webs, shares three types of organisms in a food chain: producers, consumers and decomposers.

Explore more: Difference Between Food Chain And Food Web

Organisms that can synthesize their own food and usually serve as the foundation for all food chains. For example – plants, algae and few species of bacteria. They prepare their own food by converting sunlight into chemical energy and this process is called photosynthesis . They use energy from the sunlight for converting carbon dioxide into simple glucose which is easily broken down to produce energy. This energy is then stored in the form of sugars for later use.

The simple diagram of the Ecological Pyramid Food Web and Food Chain is shown below.

Primary Consumers

They are also called herbivores animals who eat producers or plants. Sometimes, these primary consumers become prey for other animals that sit higher on the food chain. Some of the primary consumers or herbivores living on the land are chipmunks, mice, horses, birds, deer and some insects. Fish, zooplankton, snails, sea urchins are a few marine primary consumers.

10 Percent Energy Rule

Even though primary consumers feed on producers, they are still getting their energy from the sun. The primary consumers feed on plants and break down the food particles to release the energy.

Primary consumers do not get 100% of the sun’s energy from the producers or the plants on which they feed. This is because only some amount of the sun’s energy is utilised by the plant to synthesise their food.

In fact, they only get 10% of the energy. This is termed as the 10% Rule, which states that only 10 per cent of the energy available gets passed onto the next level of consumers.

Secondary Consumers

These are animals who feed on primary consumers. They usually eat meat and are termed as predators. Lion, hawks, snakes, coyotes, wolves, and spiders are a few terrestrial secondary consumers.

Tertiary Consumers

They are the ones who feed on secondary consumers. They are thus called the top predators. They are also termed as apex predators and have no natural enemies. Naturally, you would assume that humans are at the top of the food chain, but they are not.

Why are Humans not at the top of the food chain?

Scientists categorize the organisms on the food chain by trophic levels. A “Trophic level” means how far an organism is from the start (level 1) of the food chain.

Predators that use a top-down control on organisms in their community are often considered keystone species. Humans are not considered apex predators because their diets are typically different, although human trophic levels increase with the consumption of meat.

For instance, plants are considered to be at trophic level 1, and the apex predators are usually placed at level 4 or 5. According to scientists, humans are placed on a trophic level of 2.21.

For more detailed information about the food web, food chain, or any other related topics, explore at BYJU’S Biology .

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Food Chains, Food Webs, and Ecological Pyramids

Published by Lisa Giorgi Modified over 5 years ago

Presentation on theme: "Food Chains, Food Webs, and Ecological Pyramids"— Presentation transcript:

Ecosystem Structure.

Flow of Energy Through Ecosystems B-3.6. Energy Through Ecosystems  The flow of energy through ecosystems can be described and illustrated in food chains,

Warm-Up: Wednesday: November 6 th When you enter the classroom, pick up a new warm-up sheet from the front chair and a lap top from the cart and login.

An energy pyramid shows the distribution of energy among trophic levels.

MRS. SANDY GÓMEZ Energy Flow in Ecosystems. Are the feeding relationships between organisms. A Food Chain is:  transfer of food energy from its source.

2.1 Energy Flow in Ecosystems Biomass is the total mass of all living things in a given area. (measured in g/m 2 or kg/m 2) Organisms interact with the.

2.1 Energy Flow in Ecosystems

13.6 Pyramid Models Pyramids model the distribution of energy and matter in an ecosystem. 1 st Trophic Level 2 nd Trophic Level 3 rd Trophic Level 4 th.

Food Chains, Webs & Pyramids! 1) The Passage of Energy The Sun The source of energy for all life on the planet Producers (Autotroph) Use the sun’s energy.

13.6 Pyramid Models KEY CONCEPT Pyramids model the distribution of energy and matter in an ecosystem.

Part 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient cycles Support life in Ecosystem

Ecosystem Components Producers – Basis of an ecosystem’s energy – Autotrophs: perform photosynthesis to make sugars – Chemotrophs: Bacteria which use.

Food Chains, Food Webs, and Ecological Pyramids. A food chain is the simplest path that energy takes through an ecosystem. Energy enters from the sun.

AIM: How does energy flow through an ecosystem? DN: What is a niche? Can two organisms occupy the same exact niche? Explain.

1 Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem Food Chains, Food Webs, Energy Pyramids.

1. Please place guided reading in the basket. 2

A food chain links species by their feeding relationships.

KEY CONCEPT Pyramids model the distribution of energy and matter in an ecosystem.

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How parasites shape complex food webs

A new study published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B sheds light on how parasites influence the intricate relationships between predator and prey populations. Researchers from the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Queen Mary University of London have developed a novel analysis to explore how factors like parasite virulence and infection probability affect the coexistence of species in a complex predator-prey-parasite system.

"Food webs are intricate networks where species interact with each other," says Dr Weini Huang Reader in Mathematical Biology. "Parasites, a massive but often overlooked component of these webs, can significantly impact their stability by affecting both predator and prey populations."

The research team is a new interdisciplinary collaboration between the group of Professor Christophe Eizaguirre, Professor of Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics in the school of Biological and Behavioural Sciences and Dr Weini Huang, Reader in Mathematical Biology in the School of Mathematical Sciences. Together with two earlier career researchers, Ana C. Hijar Islas and Amy Milne, they thoughtfully investigated this complex system through mathematical analysis and stochastic simulations, which considers microscopic events like reproduction, death, competition, infection, and predation at the individual level.

The study revealed that stochasticity, random fluctuations in population sizes, plays a significant role in determining whether species coexist or go extinct, particularly at the boundary between these states.

Dr Weini Huang and Amy Milne played a crucial role in developing the model's mathematical framework. Dr Huang explains: "We found that the relative abundance of infected and uninfected individuals can be reversed between the prey and predator populations. This counterintuitive finding suggests that the interplay of direct and indirect parasite effects plays a significant role in shaping infection prevalence throughout the food web."

Professor Eizaguirre emphasises the importance of this research: "Understanding how parasites influence food web dynamics is crucial for predicting the impact of environmental changes on ecosystem health but also risks of spread of invasive diseases. Our findings provide a valuable framework for exploring risks of certain parasites to become invasive as they are move with their hosts"

"Our findings provide a valuable foundation for understanding how these systems evolve over time," concludes Dr Weini Huang. The team have developed a further study built upon this framework by incorporating the evolution of key parameters, such as reproduction costs and infection probability, under the combined influence of ecological and evolutionary pressures."

This research has the potential to inform conservation efforts by providing a deeper understanding of how parasites can influence the resilience of ecosystems. By incorporating parasite dynamics into ecological models, conservation biologists can develop more effective strategies to protect vulnerable species and maintain healthy ecosystems.

Ecology Research
Pests and Parasites
Wild Animals
Exotic Species
Environmental Awareness
Ecological niche
Evolution of the eye

Story Source:

Materials provided by Queen Mary University of London . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

Ana C. Hijar Islas, Amy Milne, Christophe Eizaguirre, Weini Huang. Parasite-mediated predation determines infection in a complex predator–prey–parasite system . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences , 2024; 291 (2021) DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2468

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