Serguei Saavedra
London E1W 1YW, UK
Portland, ME 04101
2nd floor
11th floor
Boston, MA 02115
2nd floor
London E1W 1LP, UK
Talk recording
Ecological networks are the synthesis of species interactions in an ecological system or community constrained within a particular area. Research has shown that the structure of these networks can modulate the tolerance of ecological systems to stochastic perturbations. However, empirical evidence has revealed that species interaction networks are constantly changing. These network reorganizations imply that the ability of ecological systems to resist future external disturbances is also changing. Then, can these network reorganizations be explained as a function of the long-term persistence of ecological systems? In this talk, I will show how new advances on the area of structural stability applied to ecological networks can provide answers to this question. In particular, I will present evidence of how seasonal network reorganizations can act as a homeostatic mechanism on the conditions compatible with the long-term persistence of ecological systems. This challenges work investigating the robustness of ecological systems assuming that networks are static.