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Food web framework for size-structured populations.

Hartvig, Martin LU ; Andersen, Ken H and Beyer, Jan E (2011) In Journal of Theoretical Biology 272(1). p.113-122
Abstract
We synthesise traditional unstructured food webs, allometric body size scaling, trait-based modelling, and physiologically structured modelling to provide a novel and ecologically relevant tool for size-structured food webs. The framework allows food web models to include ontogenetic growth and life-history omnivory at the individual level by resolving the population structure of each species as a size-spectrum. Each species is characterised by the trait 'size at maturation', and all model parameters are made species independent through scaling with individual body size and size at maturation. Parameter values are determined from cross-species analysis of fish communities as life-history omnivory is widespread in aquatic systems, but may... (More)
We synthesise traditional unstructured food webs, allometric body size scaling, trait-based modelling, and physiologically structured modelling to provide a novel and ecologically relevant tool for size-structured food webs. The framework allows food web models to include ontogenetic growth and life-history omnivory at the individual level by resolving the population structure of each species as a size-spectrum. Each species is characterised by the trait 'size at maturation', and all model parameters are made species independent through scaling with individual body size and size at maturation. Parameter values are determined from cross-species analysis of fish communities as life-history omnivory is widespread in aquatic systems, but may be reparameterised for other systems. An ensemble of food webs is generated and the resulting communities are analysed at four levels of organisation: community level, species level, trait level, and individual level. The model may be solved analytically by assuming that the community spectrum follows a power law. The analytical solution provides a baseline expectation of the results of complex food web simulations, and agrees well with the predictions of the full model on (1) biomass distribution as a function of individual size, (2) biomass distribution as a function of size at maturation, and (3) relation between predator-prey mass ratio of preferred and eaten food. The full model additionally predicts the diversity distribution as a function of size at maturation. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Theoretical Biology
volume
272
issue
1
pages
113 - 122
publisher
Academic Press
external identifiers
  • wos:000287227700012
  • scopus:78650601579
  • pmid:21146543
ISSN
1095-8541
DOI
10.1016/j.jtbi.2010.12.006
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c3073ee8-90b3-44a4-bc2d-de45c181b42b (old id 1756538)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:45:00
date last changed
2022-04-22 05:02:44
@article{c3073ee8-90b3-44a4-bc2d-de45c181b42b,
  abstract     = {{We synthesise traditional unstructured food webs, allometric body size scaling, trait-based modelling, and physiologically structured modelling to provide a novel and ecologically relevant tool for size-structured food webs. The framework allows food web models to include ontogenetic growth and life-history omnivory at the individual level by resolving the population structure of each species as a size-spectrum. Each species is characterised by the trait 'size at maturation', and all model parameters are made species independent through scaling with individual body size and size at maturation. Parameter values are determined from cross-species analysis of fish communities as life-history omnivory is widespread in aquatic systems, but may be reparameterised for other systems. An ensemble of food webs is generated and the resulting communities are analysed at four levels of organisation: community level, species level, trait level, and individual level. The model may be solved analytically by assuming that the community spectrum follows a power law. The analytical solution provides a baseline expectation of the results of complex food web simulations, and agrees well with the predictions of the full model on (1) biomass distribution as a function of individual size, (2) biomass distribution as a function of size at maturation, and (3) relation between predator-prey mass ratio of preferred and eaten food. The full model additionally predicts the diversity distribution as a function of size at maturation.}},
  author       = {{Hartvig, Martin and Andersen, Ken H and Beyer, Jan E}},
  issn         = {{1095-8541}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{113--122}},
  publisher    = {{Academic Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Theoretical Biology}},
  title        = {{Food web framework for size-structured populations.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2010.12.006}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jtbi.2010.12.006}},
  volume       = {{272}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}