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Structural stability estimated through critical perturbation determines evolutionary persistence in mutualistic model ecosystems
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Alberto Pascual-García
Royal Society Open Science, Volume: 12, Issue: 8, Start page: 250123
Swansea University Author:
Miguel Lurgi Rivera
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© 2025 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
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DOI (Published version): 10.1098/rsos.250123
Abstract
Understanding the factors that influence the persistence and stability of complex ecological networks is a central focus of ecological research. Recent research into these factors has predominantly attempted to unveil the ecological processes and structural constraints that influence network stabili...
| Published in: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| ISSN: | 2054-5703 |
| Published: |
The Royal Society
2025
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70118 |
| Abstract: |
Understanding the factors that influence the persistence and stability of complex ecological networks is a central focus of ecological research. Recent research into these factors has predominantly attempted to unveil the ecological processes and structural constraints that influence network stability. Comparatively little attention has been given to the consequences of evolutionary events, despite the fact that the interplay between ecology and evolution has been recognized as fundamental to understand the formation of ecological communities and predict their reaction to change. We extend existing mutualistic population dynamical models by incorporating evolutionary adaptation events to address this critical gap. We relate ecological aspects of mutualistic community stability to the stability of persistent evolutionary pathways. Our findings highlight the significance of the structural stability of ecological systems in predicting biodiversity loss under both evolutionary and environmental changes, particularly in relation to species-level selection. Notably, our simulations reveal that the evolution of mutualistic networks tends to increase a network-dependent parameter termed critical competition, which places systems in a regime in which mutualistic interactions enhance structural stability and, consequently, biodiversity. This research emphasizes the pivotal role of natural selection in shaping ecological networks, steering them towards reduced effective competition below a critical threshold where mutualistic interactions foster stability in the face of environmental change. |
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| Keywords: |
eco-evolutionary dynamics, mutualistic networks, structural stability, evolutionary stability, biodiversity loss |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
M.L. was supported by the French ANR through LabEx TULIP (ANR-10-LABX-41; ANR-11-IDEX-002-02), by a Region Midi-Pyrénées Project (CNRS 121090), and by the FRAGCLIM Consolidator Grant, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement number 726176). A.P.G. was funded by a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RyC2021-032424-I), and by CSIC intramural project 20232AT031. |
| Issue: |
8 |
| Start Page: |
250123 |