Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41071869›Full record

ArticleScience advances2025

Mediating role of food web structure in linking diversity to multidimensional stability: Evidence from global marine ecosystems.

Jianfeng Feng, Xuhao Wan, Ruyue Wang, Shengpeng Li, Maohong Wei, Vasilis Dakos, Marcos Llope, Xueqiang Lu, Nils Chr Stenseth

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Stress and resilience in northern European marine ecosystems.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Jianfeng FengCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0002-4003-9458
Xuhao WanCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0003-2612-5867
Ruyue WangCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, P. R. China.
Shengpeng LiTianjin Foreign Studies University, Tianjin, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0003-1671-035X
Maohong WeiCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, P. R. China.
Vasilis DakosInstitut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.ORCID 0000-0001-8862-718X
Marcos LlopeInstituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO-CSIC), Centro Oceanográfico de Cádiz, Puerto Pesquero, Muelle de Levante, E-11006, Cadiz (Andalusia), Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-1408-6848
Xueqiang LuCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0001-9503-6871
Nils Chr StensethCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-1591-5399

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The diversity-stability relationship persists as a central ecological debate, as existing work primarily examines direct diversity and structural drivers, while empirical evidence clarifying how direct and structure-mediated pathways jointly shape ecosystem multistability remains limited. Here, we analyzed 217 global marine food webs, quantifying structural properties and multidimensional stability to evaluate how diversity and structure jointly influence stability. Our analyses reveal that diversity is consistently linked to stability through dual pathways: positively associated with resistance and resilience via indirect structural mediation, yet negatively correlated with local stability unless interaction strength is accounted for. Critically, omitting structural mediation yields a net negative diversity-stability correlation, whereas integrating food web structure uncovers context-dependent positive relationships, underscoring structural metrics as pivotal explanatory variables. Our findings reconcile the diversity-stability debate by showing that the food web structure mediates context-dependent stability outcomes-integrating direct and indirect pathways resolves contradictions and advances actionable metrics for conservation strategies resilient to environmental changes.

Indexed as

Aquatic OrganismsBiodiversityFood ChainAnimalsOceans and Seas

Identifiers

PMID41071869
PMCPMC12513428

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.