Pyramids and cascades: a synthesis of food chain functioning and stability
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Abstract
Food chain theory is one of the cornerstones of ecology, providing many of its basic predictions, such as biomass pyramids, trophic cascades and predator–prey oscillations. Yet, ninety years into this theory, the conditions under which these patterns may occur and persist in nature remain subject to debate. Rather than address each pattern in isolation, we propose that they must be understood together, calling for synthesis in a fragmented landscape of theoretical and empirical results. As a first step, we propose a minimal theory that combines the long‐standing energetic and dynamical approaches of food chains. We chart theoretical predictions on a concise map, where two main regimes emerge: across various functioning and stability metrics, one regime is characterised by pyramidal patterns and the other by cascade patterns. The axes of this map combine key physiological and ecological variables, such as metabolic rates and self‐regulation. A quantitative comparison with data sheds light on conflicting theoretical predictions and empirical puzzles, from size spectra to causes of trophic cascade strength. We conclude that drawing systematic connections between various existing approaches to food chains, and between their predictions on functioning and stability, is a crucial step in confronting this theory to real ecosystems.
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Given the high turnover rate of lower trophic level consumption within oceanic food webs, the potential for transfer of MPs, and associated chemical contaminants, to higher trophic levels is probable.
“given the high turnover rate of lower trophic level consumption within oceanic food webs (Barbier and Loreau, 2019), the potential for transfer of MPs, and associated chemical contaminants, to higher tropic levels is probable.”
From Trophic transfer of polyester microfibres across a multi-level marine food web. (2025) · cites this paper as Barbier and Loreau, 2019
The Empirical Applications section (‘Differences between aquatic and terrestrial herbivory’; page unavailable) reports rapid phytoplankton turnover and substantial consumption by aquatic herbivores. That supports the cited premise about lower trophic levels, but the passage discusses aquatic ecosystems generally rather than establishing the claim specifically for oceanic food webs. The citation is attached to that premise, not to the subsequent inference about MPs and contaminants. (LLM, conf=0.82)
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- Authors
- Barbier, M., & Loreau, M.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Barbier, Matthieu
- Venue
- Ecology Letters
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-12-17
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 405-419
- ISSN
- 1461-023X (ISSN-L)
- 1461-0248
- PMC
- PMC6379062
- OpenAlex
- W2952169101
- Cited by
- 112
- References
- 81
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 1.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Ecology Letters (publishedVersion)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- European Commission (HORIZON2020, 666971)
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-10-LABX- 41, ANR-11-IDEX-0002, ANR-10, ANR-10-LABX, 10-LABX-41)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Sustainability and Ecological Systems Analysis
- Keywords
- trophic cascades, predator-prey oscillations, metabolic rate, self-regulation, size spectra
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Ecology, Predatory Behavior, Ecosystem, Biomass, Food Chain
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