Trophic fields

Jordán, F. (2001) Trophic fields. Community Ecology, 2 (2). pp. 181-185. ISSN 1585-8553

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Abstract

In complex, modern food webs, the analysis of pairwise interactions gives weak predictions of the behaviour of either single species or the whole community. Indirect effects call for explicit study and quantification. However, just as focusing only on pairwise interactions is incorrect, overemphasising the role of long, indirect pathways also seems to be unrealistic. Thus, a reasonable range of indirect trophic effects spreading through the food web is to be defined and quantified. I suggest a graph theoretical measure for quantifying this range, considering only network position (topology). I call this the trophic field of a species (or trophic group), recalling the idea that field theory could be a fruitful research programme in biology. Further, I propose a measure for the quantification of the indirect component of the trophic field. Finally, the use of introduced concepts and indices is illustrated by analysing the trophic flow network of the Schlei Fjord ecosystem (N. Germany).

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