Mutualistic networks emerging from adaptive niche-based interactions

Mutualistic networks are vital ecological and social systems shaped by adaptation and evolution. They involve bipartite cooperation via the exchange of goods or services between actors of different types. Empirical observations of mutualistic networks across genres and geographic conditions reveal c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2020-10, Vol.11 (1), p.5470-5470, Article 5470
Main Authors: Cai, Weiran, Snyder, Jordan, Hastings, Alan, D’Souza, Raissa M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/114/2408
639/705/1041
Adaptation
Adaptive systems
Assembly
Environmental changes
Evolution
Humanities and Social Sciences
Invasive species
Modularity
multidisciplinary
Mutualism
Networks
Niches
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:Mutualistic networks are vital ecological and social systems shaped by adaptation and evolution. They involve bipartite cooperation via the exchange of goods or services between actors of different types. Empirical observations of mutualistic networks across genres and geographic conditions reveal correlated nested and modular patterns. Yet, the underlying mechanism for the network assembly remains unclear. We propose a niche-based adaptive mechanism where both nestedness and modularity emerge simultaneously as complementary facets of an optimal niche structure. Key dynamical properties are revealed at different timescales. Foremost, mutualism can either enhance or reduce the network stability, depending on competition intensity. Moreover, structural adaptations are asymmetric, exhibiting strong hysteresis in response to environmental change. Finally, at the evolutionary timescale we show that the adaptive mechanism plays a crucial role in preserving the distinctive patterns of mutualism under species invasions and extinctions. Nested and modular patterns are vastly observed in mutualistic networks across genres and geographic conditions. Here, the authors show a unified mechanism that underlies the assembly and evolution of such networks, based on adaptive niche interactions of the participants.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-020-19154-5