No such thing as a free lunch: interaction costs and the structure and stability of mutualistic networks

Abstract

Different modelling approaches have been used to relate the structure of mutualistic interactions with the stability of communities. However, inconsistencies arise when we compare modelling outcomes with the patterns of interactions observed in empirical studies. To shed light on these inconsistencies, we explored the network structure-stability relationship by incorporating the cost of mutualistic interactions, a long ignored feature of mutualisms, into population dynamics models. We assessed the changes in the relationship between network structure (species richness, connectance, modularity) and community stability (species persistence, resilience), and between network structure and community structural attributes (average abundance), using models with increasing levels of cost for mutualistic communities. We found that adding the potential cost of mutualistic interactions affected the strength of the network structure-stability relationship. Our results revive the question of whether the structure of mutualistic networks determines community stability.

Different modelling approaches have been used to relate the structure of mutualistic interactions with the stability of communities. However, inconsistencies arise when we compare modelling outcomes with the patterns of interactions observed in empirical studies. To shed light on these inconsistencies, we explored the network structure-stability relationship by incorporating the cost of mutualistic interactions, a long ignored feature of mutualisms, into population dynamics models. We assessed the changes in the relationship between network structure (species richness, connectance, modularity) and community stability (species persistence, resilience), and between network structure and community structural attributes (average abundance), using models with increasing levels of cost for mutualistic communities. We found that adding the potential cost of mutualistic interactions affected the strength of the network structure-stability relationship. Our results revive the question of whether the structure of mutualistic networks determines community stability.