The impact of non-linear functional responses on the long-term evolution of food web structure

dc.creatorDrossel, Barbara
dc.creatorMcKane, Alan
dc.creatorQuince, Christopher
dc.date2004-01-19
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T05:58:08Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T05:58:08Z
dc.descriptionWe investigate the long-term web structure emerging in evolutionary food web models when different types of functional responses are used. We find that large and complex webs with several trophic layers arise only if the population dynamics is such that it allows predators to focus on their best prey species. This can be achieved using modified Lotka-Volterra or Holling/Beddington functional responses with effective couplings that depend on the predator's efficiency at exploiting the prey, or a ratio-dependent functional response with adaptive foraging. In contrast, if standard Lotka-Volterra or Holling/Beddington functional responses are used, long-term evolution generates webs with almost all species being basal, and with additionally many links between these species. Interestingly, in all cases studied, a large proportion of weak links result naturally from the evolution of the food webs.
dc.description16 pages, 7 figures
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0401025
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0401025
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/88246
dc.subjectPopulations and Evolution
dc.subjectStatistical Mechanics
dc.titleThe impact of non-linear functional responses on the long-term evolution of food web structure
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