Mesoscale properties of mutualistic networks in ecosystems

TL;DR

This study investigates mesoscale structural properties of ecological mutualistic networks, revealing that community structures are not sufficient to characterize these networks' organization and stability.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of mesoscale properties in ecological networks, highlighting limitations of community structures for understanding ecosystem stability.

Findings

No meaningful hierarchy between networks was found.

Negative correlation between modularity and nestedness/core-periphery structures.

Community structures are inadequate to characterize mutualistic networks.

Abstract

Uncovering structural properties of ecological networks is a crucial starting point of studying the system's stability in response to various types of perturbations. We analyze pollination and seed disposal networks, which are representative examples of mutualistic networks in ecosystems, in various scales. In particular, we examine mesoscale properties such as the nested structure, the core-periphery structure, and the community structure by statistically investigating their interrelationships with real network data. As a result of community detection in different scales, we find the absence of meaningful hierarchy between networks, and the negative correlation between the modularity and the two other structures (nestedness and core-periphery-ness), which themselves are highly positively correlated. In addition, no characteristic scale of communities is perceivable from the community-inconsistency analysis. Therefore, the community structures, which are most widely studied mesoscale structures of networks, are not in fact adequate to characterize the mutualistic networks of this scale in ecosystems.