ArticleNature communications2018
A unifying theory for top-heavy ecosystem structure in the ocean.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Protection promotes energetically efficient structures in marine communities.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- Mismatches in thermal performance between ectothermic predators and prey alter interaction strength and top-down control.Oecologia · 2023Article
- Consistent predator-prey biomass scaling in complex food webs.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Community size structure varies with predator-prey size relationships and temperature across Australian reefs.Ecology and evolution · 2022Article
- On the evolution of trophic position.Ecology letters · 2021Article
- Percolation on feature-enriched interconnected systems.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Food web complexity weakens size-based constraints on the pyramids of life.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2020Article
- Toward a metabolic theory of life history.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- Pyramids and cascades: a synthesis of food chain functioning and stability.Ecology letters · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Size generally dictates metabolic requirements, trophic level, and consequently, ecosystem structure, where inefficient energy transfer leads to bottom-heavy ecosystem structure and biomass decreases as individual size (or trophic level) increases. However, many animals deviate from simple size-based predictions by either adopting generalist predatory behavior, or feeding lower in the trophic web than predicted from their size. Here we show that generalist predatory behavior and lower trophic feeding at large body size increase overall biomass and shift ecosystems from a bottom-heavy pyramid to a top-heavy hourglass shape, with the most biomass accounted for by the largest animals. These effects could be especially dramatic in the ocean, where primary producers are the smallest components of the ecosystem. This approach makes it possible to explore and predict, in the past and in the future, the structure of ocean ecosystems without biomass extraction and other impacts.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.