The DOI matches its Crossref record; 84 of the 84 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A landscape theory for food web architecture.
Abstract
Ecologists have long searched for structures and processes that impart stability in nature. In particular, food web ecology has held promise in tackling this issue. Empirical patterns in food webs have consistently shown that the distributions of species and interactions in nature are more likely to be stable than randomly constructed systems with the same number of species and interactions. Food web ecology still faces two fundamental challenges, however. First, the quantity and quality of food web data required to document both the species richness and the interaction strengths among all species within food webs is largely prohibitive. Second, where food webs have been well documented, spatial and temporal variation in food web structure has been ignored. Conversely, research that has addressed spatial and temporal variation in ecosystems has generally ignored the full complexity of food web architecture. Here, we incorporate empirical patterns, largely from macroecology and behavioural ecology, into a spatially implicit food web structure to construct a simple landscape theory of food web architecture. Such an approach both captures important architectural features of food webs and allows for an exploration of food web structure across a range of spatial scales. Finally, we demonstrated that food webs are hierarchically organized along the spatial and temporal niche axes of species and their utilization of food resources in ways that stabilize ecosystems.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“This suggests a similar pattern of fast and slow energy channels to those described by Rooney and colleagues, with fast energy flow up through the highly seasonal but very productive grasses of the short-grass plains.”
From Spatial Guilds in the Serengeti Food Web Revealed by a Bayesian Group Model (2011) · cites this paper as [48]
In the citing paper
“These patterns emerge directly from the topology of the food web without being explicitly labeled as different habitats upfront as was done in previous empirical work [48], showing that topological analysis can reveal structures that may be very significant for food-web dynamics.”
From Spatial Guilds in the Serengeti Food Web Revealed by a Bayesian Group Model (2011) · cites this paper as [48]
Citations
Cites
TOWARD A METABOLIC THEORY OF ECOLOGY
Brown, J. H., Gillooly, J. F., Allen, A. P., Savage, V. M., & West, G. B. (2004) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/03-9000 · Cited by 7,779
The Problem of Pattern and Scale in Ecology: The Robert H. MacArthur Award Lecture
Levin, S. A. (1992) · Ecology · doi:10.2307/1941447 · Cited by 6,830
Historical Overfishing and the Recent Collapse of Coastal Ecosystems
Jackson, J. B. C., Kirby, M. X., Berger, W. H., Bjorndal, K. A., Botsford, L. W., Bourque, B. J., Bradbury, R. H., Cooke, R., Erlandson, J., Estes, J. A., et al. (2001) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1059199 · Cited by 6,652
The Ecological Implications of Body Size
Peters, R. H. (1983) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511608551 · Cited by 5,757
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Dalsgaard, J., Froese, R., & Torres, F. (1998) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.279.5352.860 · Cited by 4,743
Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services
Worm, B., Barbier, E. B., Beaumont, N., Duffy, J. E., Folke, C., Halpern, B. S., Jackson, J. B. C., Lotze, H. K., Micheli, F., Palumbi, S. R., et al. (2006) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1132294 · Cited by 4,544
Schoener, T. W. (1974) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.185.4145.27 · Cited by 4,129
The Trophic‐Dynamic Aspect of Ecology
Lindeman, R. L. (1942) · Ecology · doi:10.2307/1930126 · Cited by 3,437
Holling, C. S. (1965) · Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada · doi:10.4039/entm9745fv · Cited by 2,721
Ecological Meltdown in Predator-Free Forest Fragments
Terborgh, J., Lopez, L., Nuñez, P., Rao, M., Shahabuddin, G., Orihuela, G., Riveros, M., Ascanio, R., Adler, G. H., Lambert, T. D., et al. (2001) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1064397 · Cited by 1,656
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Elton C., 1927, Animal Ecology
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–241 of 241
Characterizing and Modeling the Structure of Competition Networks
Yang, B., & Wang, H. (2011) · Journal of Service Science and Management · doi:10.4236/jssm.2011.41002 · Cited by 1
Selection of trilateral continuums of life history strategies under food web interactions
Fujiwara, M. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-22789-6 · Cited by 1
Replicating nature's fabric: High information markets and the sustainability of global seafood
Bieg, C., Bartley, T., McCann, K. S., & Hanner, R. (2022) · Food Webs · doi:10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00239 · Cited by 1
Self-citationQuillen, K., Santos, N., Testa, J. M., & Woodland, R. J. (2022) · Food Webs · doi:10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00252 · Cited by 2
Limited predictability of body length in a fish population
Wang, L., & Wang, T. (2022) · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.3389/fevo.2022.1064873 · Cited by 1
Niche partitioning among demersal marine fishes at the southern tip of South America
Alvarez, C. K., Giussi, A. R., & Botto, F. (2024) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps14613 · Cited by 1
Santos, N. R., Langan, J. A., Mayer, C., & McMahon, K. W. (2025) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps14938 · Cited by 1
Bartley, T., Guzzo, M. M., Cazelles, K., Verville, A., McMeans, B. C., & McCann, K. S. (2019) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/572925 · Cited by 1
Self-citationSiqueira, T., & Wunderlich, A. C. (2018) · Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-018-0720-2 · Cited by 1
The assembly of a saltmarsh ecosystem: The interplay of green and brown webs
Schrama, M. J. J. (2012) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology)
Henri, D. C. (2014) · Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter)
Front Range Student Ecology Symposium has highest participation yet
Poff, N. L. (2009)
How top consumers structure food webs with multiple pathways of energy flow
Wollrab, S. (2013) · Electronic Theses of LMU Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) · doi:10.5282/edoc.15519
The assembly of a saltmarsh ecosystem
Schrama, M. J. J. (2012)
Evidence for asymmetric assimilation of an anthropogenic resource subsidy in a freshwater food web
Johnson, L. E. (2017) · The Atrium (University of Guelph)
Nature rewires in a changing worldPreprint
Bartley, T., McCann, K. S., Bieg, C., Cazelles, K., Granados, M., Guzzo, M. M., MacDougall, A. S., Tunney, T. D., & McMeans, B. C. (2018) · doi:10.7287/peerj.preprints.27187v1
Self-citationTheoretical Advances in Species–Area Relationship Research
Matthews, T. J., Triantis, K. A., & Whittaker, R. J. (2021) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108569422.011
Gruner, D. S. (2013) · Encyclopedia of Life Sciences · doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0003183.pub2
Bouali, H. H. L., & Bouloudenine, M. (2022) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4115236
Food Webs as Multilayer Networks
Melián, C. J., & Eguı́luz, V. M. (2023) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-822562-2.00119-5
Leibold, M. A. (2023) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-822562-2.00378-9
Food-web coupling by mobile consumers has individual to ecosystem level effectsPreprint
Peller, T., Chaouat, L., Broadbent, H., Giacomuzzo, E., Kaeser, S., Mueller, G., & Altermatt, F. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.03.25.645357
Miller, B. J., McKinstry, M. C., Wilcock, P. R., Macfarlane, W. W., Bassett, S., Budy, P. E., & Pennock, C. A. (2025) · Journal of Environmental Management · doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126714
Response of Pond Food Webs to Anthropogenic Habitat Degradation
Gobel, N., Laufer, G., Arim, M., & González‐Bergonzoni, I. (2025) · Freshwater Biology · doi:10.1111/fwb.70088
Variation in food web reliance on green and brown energy pathways across ecosystem gradients
Sturges, J. W., James, W. R., Rezek, R. J., Santos, R. O., White, M., Badlowski, G. A., Trabelsi, S., Massie, J. A., Lesser, J. S., Trexler, J. C., et al. (2026) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0336521
Intégration théorique de la biogéographie et du fonctionnement des écosystèmes
Jacquet, C. (2016) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/e5da6947z2af4z4794z8e3cz4d192ba4bf18
Effects of interactions between the green and brown food webs on ecosystem functioning
Zou, K. (2016) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/af267512zd2dcz4f77zb327z04d814167cee
Transferts de matière organique et fonctionnement des réseaux trophiques côtiers aux îles Marquises.
Fey, P. H. A. (2019) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/a6cb132fz7521z4e01z8cf5z681c2b5f7022
Variability of the ecological niche of predatory fishes in lake ecosystems
Westrelin, S. (2022) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/3f8081a8z1edfz40aezadffz6b20e3c0c684
Zhang, S., Zhang, X., Zhong, W., Lewkowicz, A., Zhang, Y., & Pellissier, L. (2026) · Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1002/ece3.73713
Huang, J., Huang, T., Wu, H., Zhang, J., Zhao, S., & Li, G. (2026) · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2026.110633
Muehl, M. F., Olin, J. A., Keyombe, J. L., Aller, J. Y., & Cerrato, R. M. (2026) · Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1002/ece3.74036
From species richness to interaction architecture
Eisenhauer, N., Yi, H., & Wildermuth, B. (2026) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2026.09.008
Swanson, R. G., Zielinski, D. P., Hondorp, D. W., Fisk, A. T., & Muir, A. M. (2026) · Journal of Great Lakes Research · doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2026.102978
Metadata
- Authors
- Rooney, N., McCann, K. S., & Moore, J. C.
- Affiliations
- University of Guelph (CA)
- Colorado State University (US)
- Venue
- Ecology Letters
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-07-08
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 867-881
- ISSN
- 1461-023X (ISSN-L)
- 1461-0248
- OpenAlex
- W2053068879
- Cited by
- 245
- References
- 84
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 0.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Ecology Letters (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Applied Mathematics › Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Keywords
- landscape theory, food web stability, hierarchy, spatial scale, food resource utilization, interaction strength, species richness
- MeSH terms
- Energy Metabolism, Models, Biological, Population Dynamics, Food Chain, Body Size
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
