Chesapeake Bay Food Web: Robustness Analysis via Energy Cutoff in Complex Networks

TL;DR

This study analyzes the Chesapeake Bay food web's robustness using complex network methods and energy flow cutoffs, highlighting the importance of keystone species in maintaining ecosystem stability.

Contribution

It introduces an energy cutoff approach to assess ecological network robustness and emphasizes the critical role of keystone species in ecosystem conservation.

Findings

The food web remains robust at low energy cutoffs.

Higher energy cutoffs lead to network fragmentation.

Keystone species are vital for ecosystem connectivity.

Abstract

The Chesapeake Bay, one of the largest estuaries in the United States, is an ecological system of great complexity and relevance. The food web is composed of thirty-six trophic components, all of which are functionally connected. In this work, the interactions among these components are numerically analyzed using complex network methods. An energy flow cutoff paradigm is applied to a weighted ecological network. The results reveal patterns characteristic of connectivity dynamics, evidencing both the initial robustness of the system and its tendency to fragmentation at higher values of the cutoff. From an applied perspective, the findings underscore the importance of conservation strategies that protect keystone species, such as carnivorous fish, which act as crucial connectors between the two main subnetworks. Although they are positioned at the top of the food web and are often assumed to be less critical to network stability, these species play a pivotal role in regulating populations of lower-level organisms, thereby maintaining the overall integrity of the ecosystem.