liu.seSearch for publications in DiVA
Change search
Link to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Ebenman, Bo
Alternative names
Publications (10 of 39) Show all publications
Gilljam, D. & Ebenman, B. (2016). High dynamic dimensionality promotes the persistence of ecological networks in a variable world.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>High dynamic dimensionality promotes the persistence of ecological networks in a variable world
2016 (English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The long-term persistence of ecological communities depends on the strength of destabilizing stochastic forces relative to the strength of stabilizing feedbacks caused by interactions among and within species. What characteristics of a community that tip the balance of these forces in favour of persistence is not clear. Here we show that long-term persistence of a community is positively related to its dynamic dimensionality (DD). A high DD means that the system approaches the equilibrium from all directions at a similar rate. On the other hand, when DD is low the deterministic forces pulling the system towards equilibrium is weak in many directions compared to the stochastic forces pushing the system away from the equilibrium. As a consequence persistence decreases as DD decreases. This result illustrates the potential importance of dynamic dimensionality of ecosystems for their persistence in a variable world and by extension for their vulnerability to changes in the strength and patterns of climate variability caused by global warming.

National Category
Biological Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-123967 (URN)
Available from: 2016-01-15 Created: 2016-01-15 Last updated: 2016-01-15Bibliographically approved
Sellman, S., Säterberg, T. & Ebenman, B. (2016). Pattern of functional extinctions in ecological networks with a variety of interaction types. Theoretical Ecology, 9(1), 83-94
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Pattern of functional extinctions in ecological networks with a variety of interaction types
2016 (English)In: Theoretical Ecology, ISSN 1874-1738, E-ISSN 1874-1746, Vol. 9, no 1, p. 83-94Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

There is a strong trend of declining populations in many species of both animals and plants. Dwindling numbers of species can eventually lead to their functional extinction. Functional, or ecological, extinction occurs when a species becomes too rare to fulfill its ecological, interactive role in the ecosystem, leading to true (numerical) extinction of other depending species. Recent theoretical work on food webs suggests that the frequency of functional extinction might be surprisingly high. However, little is known about the risk of functional species extinctions in networks with other types of interactions than trophic ones. Here, we explore the frequency of functional extinctions in model ecological networks having different proportions of antagonistic and mutualistic links. Furthermore, we investigate the topological relationship between functionally and numerically extinct species. We find that (1) the frequency of functional extinctions is higher in networks containing a mixture of antagonistic and mutualistic interactions than in networks with only one type of interaction, (2) increased mortality rate of species having both mutualistic and antagonistic links is more likely to lead to extinction of another species than to extinction of the species itself compared to species having only mutualistic or antagonistic links, and (3) trophic distance (shortest path) between functionally and numerically extinct species is, on average, longer than one, indicating the importance of indirect effects. These results generalize the findings of an earlier study on food webs, demonstrating the potential importance of functional extinction in a variety of ecological network types.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Netherlands, 2016
Keywords
Functional extinction, Declining populations, Interaction type, Interaction strength, Ecological network
National Category
Ecology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-121570 (URN)10.1007/s12080-015-0275-7 (DOI)000373308600009 ()
Note

Funding agencies: Linkoping University

Available from: 2015-09-25 Created: 2015-09-25 Last updated: 2018-02-18Bibliographically approved
Gilljam, D. & Ebenman, B. (2016). Patterns of resource utilisation within and between species affect the dynamic dimensionality and stability of ecological communities.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Patterns of resource utilisation within and between species affect the dynamic dimensionality and stability of ecological communities
2016 (English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

In many ecological communities, individuals within species pass through a wide spectrum of sizes, spanning several orders of magnitude, during the independent part of their life cycle. Such a large size-variation within a species will affect the structure of its niche, since the size of an individual affects the type of prey it can consume as well as what predators will attack it. Here we use highly resolved individual-based empirical data to investigate patterns in the niche structure of several aquatic food webs. We quantify within and between species components of resource use in these webs and explore its consequences for dynamical dimensionality and community stability using simple food web models with stage-structured consumer species. Among the natural food webs there are webs where species overlap widely in their resource use while the resource use of size-classes within species differs. There are also webs where differences in resource use among species is relatively large and the niches of sizeclasses within species are more similar. Model systems with the former structure are found to have low dynamical dimensionality and to be less stable compared to systems with the latter structure. Thus, although differential resource use among individuals within a species is likely to decrease the intensity of intraspecific competition and favor individuals specializing on less exploited resources it can destabilize the community in which the individuals are embedded.

National Category
Biological Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-123968 (URN)
Available from: 2016-01-15 Created: 2016-01-15 Last updated: 2016-01-15Bibliographically approved
Gilljam, D., Curtsdotter, A. & Ebenman, B. (2015). Adaptive rewiring aggravates the effects of species loss in ecosystems. Nature Communications, 6, Article ID 8412.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Adaptive rewiring aggravates the effects of species loss in ecosystems
2015 (English)In: Nature Communications, E-ISSN 2041-1723, Vol. 6, article id 8412Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Loss of one species in an ecosystem can trigger extinctions of other dependent species. For instance, specialist predators will go extinct following the loss of their only prey unless they can change their diet. It has therefore been suggested that an ability of consumers to rewire to novel prey should mitigate the consequences of species loss by reducing the risk of cascading extinction. Using a new modelling approach on natural and computer-generated food webs we find that, on the contrary, rewiring often aggravates the effects of species loss. This is because rewiring can lead to overexploitation of resources, which eventually causes extinction cascades. Such a scenario is particularly likely if prey species cannot escape predation when rare and if predators are efficient in exploiting novel prey. Indeed, rewiring is a two-edged sword; it might be advantageous for individual predators in the short term, yet harmful for long-term system persistence.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Nature Publishing Group, 2015
Keywords
Resistance, extinction risk, secondary extinction cascades, environmental variation, stochastic, response diversity, functional responses
National Category
Biological Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-108905 (URN)10.1038/ncomms9412 (DOI)000363138400004 ()
Note

Funding text: Linkoping University.

The original titel of this article was Adaptive rewiring aggravates the effects of species loss in ecological networks.

Available from: 2014-07-11 Created: 2014-07-11 Last updated: 2023-03-28Bibliographically approved
Curtsdotter, A., Binzer, A., Brose, U. & Ebenman, B. (2014). The interaction between species traits and community properties determine food web resistance to species loss.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The interaction between species traits and community properties determine food web resistance to species loss
2014 (English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The ability to identify the ecosystems most vulnerable to species loss is fundamental for the allocation of conservation efforts. With this aim, the traits of keystone species have been investigated, as have the properties defining systems especially sensitive to species loss. However, these two have rarely been investigated in relation to each other. Here we show, that the traits of the species primarily lost act in conjunction with the properties of the food web from which it is lost, in determining the resistance of the system. We find that the extent of bottom-up extinction cascades is determined mainly by traits related to food web topology, while traits related to population dynamics govern the extent of top-down cascades. As different disturbances affect species with different traits, this interaction implies that the characteristics defining a sensitive community depend on the disturbance it is subjected to.

Keywords
Sequential deletion, species loss, perturbation, stability, robustness, secondary extinction cascades, top-predator loss, meso-predator release, body size, allometric relationships, functional response.
National Category
Other Biological Topics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-108903 (URN)
Available from: 2014-07-11 Created: 2014-07-11 Last updated: 2014-07-11Bibliographically approved
Curtsdotter, A., Münger, P., Norberg, J., Åkesson, A. & Ebenman, B. (2014). The strength of interspecific competition modulates the eco-evolutionary response to climate change.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The strength of interspecific competition modulates the eco-evolutionary response to climate change
Show others...
2014 (English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Climate change is predicted to have major implications for global biodiversity. Dispersal and evolution may become crucial for species survival, as species must either adapt or migrate to track the changing climate. However, migration and evolution do not occur in vacuum – the biotic community in which these processes play out may modulate their effect on biodiversity. Here, we use an eco-evolutionary, spatially explicit, multi-species model that allows us to examine the interactive effects of competition, adaptation and dispersal on species richness in plant communities under global warming. We find that there is a larger decline in global species richness when interspecific competition is strong. Furthermore, there is a three-way interaction between interspecific competition, evolution and dispersal that creates a complex pattern of biodiversity responses, in which both evolution and dispersal can either increase or decrease the magnitude of species loss. This interaction arises for at least two reasons: 1) different levels of dispersal, evolution and competition creates differences in local and global community structure before climate change, and 2) competitive interactions determine whether the benefits of dispersal and/or evolution (climate tracking and adaptation) outweighs the risks (competitive exclusion).

Keywords
Climate change, increased temperature, biodiversity loss, species extinctions, competition communities, dispersal, migration, invasion, evolution, local adaptation, tolerance curves
National Category
Other Biological Topics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-108904 (URN)
Available from: 2014-07-11 Created: 2014-07-11 Last updated: 2014-07-11Bibliographically approved
Hauzy, C., Nadin, G., Canard, E., Gounand, I., Mouquet, N. & Ebenman, B. (2013). Confronting the Paradox of Enrichment to the Metacommunity Perspective. PLOS ONE, 8(12), e82969
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Confronting the Paradox of Enrichment to the Metacommunity Perspective
Show others...
2013 (English)In: PLOS ONE, E-ISSN 1932-6203, Vol. 8, no 12, p. e82969-Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Resource enrichment can potentially destabilize predator-prey dynamics. This phenomenon historically referred as the "paradox of enrichment" has mostly been explored in spatially homogenous environments. However, many predator-prey communities exchange organisms within spatially heterogeneous networks called metacommunities. This heterogeneity can result from uneven distribution of resources among communities and thus can lead to the spreading of local enrichment within metacommunities. Here, we adapted the original Rosenzweig-MacArthur predator-prey model, built to study the paradox of enrichment, to investigate the effect of regional enrichment and of its spatial distribution on predator-prey dynamics in metacommunities. We found that the potential for destabilization was depending on the connectivity among communities and the spatial distribution of enrichment. In one hand, we found that at low dispersal regional enrichment led to the destabilization of predator-prey dynamics. This destabilizing effect was more pronounced when the enrichment was uneven among communities. In the other hand, we found that high dispersal could stabilize the predator-prey dynamics when the enrichment was spatially heterogeneous. Our results illustrate that the destabilizing effect of enrichment can be dampened when the spatial scale of resource enrichment is lower than that of organismss movements (heterogeneous enrichment). From a conservation perspective, our results illustrate that spatial heterogeneity could decrease the regional extinction risk of species involved in specialized trophic interactions. From the perspective of biological control, our results show that the heterogeneous distribution of pest resource could favor or dampen outbreaks of pests and of their natural enemies, depending on the spatial scale of heterogeneity.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
San Francisco, CA United States: Public Library of Science, 2013
National Category
Natural Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-102657 (URN)10.1371/journal.pone.0082969 (DOI)000328735700099 ()
Available from: 2013-12-18 Created: 2013-12-18 Last updated: 2021-06-14
Säterberg, T., Sellman, S. & Ebenman, B. (2013). High frequency of functional extinctions in ecological networks. Nature, 499(7459), 468-+
Open this publication in new window or tab >>High frequency of functional extinctions in ecological networks
2013 (English)In: Nature, ISSN 0028-0836, E-ISSN 1476-4687, Vol. 499, no 7459, p. 468-+Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Intensified exploitation of natural populations and habitats has led to increased mortality rates and decreased abundances of many species(1,2). There is a growing concern that this might cause critical abundance thresholds of species to be crossed(1,3-5), with extinction cascades and state shifts in ecosystems as a consequence(4,6,7). When increased mortality rate and decreased abundance of a given species lead to extinction of other species, this species can be characterized as functionally extinct even though it still exists. Although such functional extinctions have been observed in some ecosystems(3,4,8), their frequency is largely unknown. Here we use a new modelling approach to explore the frequency and pattern of functional extinctions in ecological networks. Specifically, we analytically derive critical abundance thresholds of species by increasing their mortality rates until an extinction occurs in the network. Applying this approach on natural and theoretical food webs, we show that the species most likely to go extinct first is not the one whose mortality rate is increased but instead another species. Indeed, up to 80% of all first extinctions are of another species, suggesting that a species ecological functionality is often lost before its own existence is threatened. Furthermore, we find that large-bodied species at the top of the food chains can only be exposed to small increases in mortality rate and small decreases in abundance before going functionally extinct compared to small-bodied species lower in the food chains. These results illustrate the potential importance of functional extinctions in ecological networks and lend strong support to arguments advocating a more community-oriented approach in conservation biology, with target levels for populations based on ecological functionality rather than on mere persistence(8-11).

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Nature Publishing Group, 2013
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-96709 (URN)10.1038/nature12277 (DOI)000322157900038 ()
Note

Funding Agencies|Linkoping University||

Available from: 2013-08-23 Created: 2013-08-23 Last updated: 2018-02-18
Kaneryd, L., Borrvall, C., Berg, S., Curtsdotter, A., Eklöf, A., Hauzy, C., . . . Ebenman, B. (2012). Species-rich ecosystems are vulnerable to cascading extinctions in an indreasingly variable world. Ecology and Evolution, 2(4), 858-874
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Species-rich ecosystems are vulnerable to cascading extinctions in an indreasingly variable world
Show others...
2012 (English)In: Ecology and Evolution, E-ISSN 2045-7758, Vol. 2, no 4, p. 858-874Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Global warming leads to increased intensity and frequency of weather extremes. Such increased environmental variability might in turn result in increased variation in the demographic rates of interacting species with potentially important consequences for the dynamics of food-webs. Using a theoretical approach we here explore the response of food-webs to a highly variable environment. We investigate how species richness and correlation in the responses of species to environmental fluctuations affect the risk of extinction cascades. We find that the risk of extinction cascades increases with increasing species richness, especially when correlation among species is low. Initial extinctions of primary producer species unleash bottom-up extinction cascades, especially in webs with specialist consumers. In this sense, species-rich ecosystems are less robust to increasing levels of environmental variability than species-poor ones. Our study thus suggests that highly species-rich ecosystems like coral reefs and tropical rainforests might be particularly vulnerable to increased climate variability.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2012
Keywords
Biodiversity; climate change; environmental variability; ecological networks; extinction cascades; food-web; species interactions; stability; stochastic models; weather extremes
National Category
Natural Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-74700 (URN)10.1002/ece3.218 (DOI)000312444000015 ()
Available from: 2012-02-05 Created: 2012-02-05 Last updated: 2024-01-17Bibliographically approved
Yvon-Durocher, G., Reiss, J., Blanchard, J., Ebenman, B., Perkins, D. l., Reuman, D. C., . . . Petchey, O. L. (2011). Across ecosystem comparisons of size structure: methods, approaches and prospects. OIKOS, 120(4), 550-563
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Across ecosystem comparisons of size structure: methods, approaches and prospects
Show others...
2011 (English)In: OIKOS, ISSN 0030-1299, Vol. 120, no 4, p. 550-563Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Understanding how ecological communities are structured and how this may vary between different types of ecosystems is a fundamental question in ecology. We develop a general framework for quantifying size-structure within and among different ecosystem types (e. g. terrestrial, freshwater or marine), via the use of a suite of bivariate relationships between organismal size and properties of individuals, populations, assemblages, pair-wise interactions, and network topology. Each of these relationships can be considered a dimension of size-structure, along which real communities lie on a continuous scale. For example, the strength, slope, or elevation of the body mass-versus-abundance or predator size-versus-prey size relationships may vary systematically among ecosystem types. We draw on examples from the literature and suggest new ways to use allometries for comparing among ecosystem types, which we illustrate by applying them to published data. Finally, we discuss how dimensions of size-structure are interconnected and how we could approach this complex hierarchy systematically. We conclude: (1) there are multiple dimensions of size-structure; (2) communities may be size-structured in some of these dimensions, but not necessarily in others; (3) across-system comparisons via rigorous quantitative statistical methods are possible, and (4) insufficient data are currently available to illuminate thoroughly the full extent and nature of differences in size-structure among ecosystem types.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Nordic Ecological Society, 2011
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-67365 (URN)10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18863.x (DOI)000288753800009 ()
Available from: 2011-04-11 Created: 2011-04-11 Last updated: 2011-04-11
Organisations

Search in DiVA

Show all publications