Spatial network structure and amphibian persistence in stochastic environments

In the past few years, the framework of complex networks has provided new insight into the organization and function of biological systems. However, in spite of its potential, spatial ecology has not yet fully incorporated tools and concepts from network theory. In the present study, we identify a l...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Fortuna, Miguel A., Gómez-Rodríguez, Carola, Bascompte, Jordi
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2006
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:digitalcsic_::878ab65d5c6ed49a2f848ae83ad81ecc
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/41644
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:complex networks
environmental stochasticity
graph-theory
habitat fragmentation
metapopulation
spatial ecology
Descripción
Sumario:In the past few years, the framework of complex networks has provided new insight into the organization and function of biological systems. However, in spite of its potential, spatial ecology has not yet fully incorporated tools and concepts from network theory. In the present study, we identify a large spatial network of temporary ponds, which are used as breeding sites by several amphibian species. We investigate how the structural properties of the spatial network change as a function of the amphibian dispersal distance and the hydric conditions. Our measures of network topology suggest that the observed spatial structure of ponds is robust to drought (compared with similar random structures), allowing the movement of amphibians to and between flooded ponds, and hence, increasing the probability of reproduction even in dry seasons.