dc.contributor.author | Lu, Xueke | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2017-05-23T11:35:37Z | |
dc.date.available | 2017-05-23T11:35:37Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2016-10-12 | |
dc.date.submitted | 2017-05-23T12:09:14.638Z | |
dc.identifier.citation | lu, X. 2016. Evaluation of the community response of ecological networks using complexity science. Queen Mary University of London | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/23287 | |
dc.description | PhD | en_US |
dc.description.abstract | This thesis investigates network properties of natural food webs. In particular, it focuses
on the e ect that external disturbances have on their substructures and robustness. The
importance of a network-level methodology lies in its capacity to capture entangling
species interactions and identify inter-connecting properties in heterogeneous food webs.
The research rst analysed the responses of freshwater food webs under the stress of
drought. A core/periphery structure was detected and its relative size was found to be
unchanged after drought despite a signi cant biodiversity loss. Species extinction triggered
extensive link rewiring and movement of species from the core to the periphery.
These results showed that the robustness was maintained indicating that the redundancy
in the core can e ectively mitigate species level perturbations. Secondly, the research
further examined the e ects of Genetically Modi ed Herbicide Tolerant (GMHT) management
on food web properties and robustness. Network analysis showed that such
change in farming practice has no signi cant impact on the agro-ecosystems. However,
crop switching, a common practice in agriculture, was found to pose much more significant
changes on network properties and robustness when compared to GMHT crops.
Thirdly, the research examined over 50 empirical food webs and demonstrated that the
relative core size is a much more e ective indicator of food web robustness than the classical
ecological measure connectance, as the latter was found to be insensitive to changes
in the interaction patterns. Lastly, the research established the relationships between
centrality measures and species ecological and/or functional role in food webs, and how
they impact on network robustness. | en_US |
dc.description.sponsorship | Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC)
Queen Mary | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | Queen Mary University of London | en_US |
dc.rights | The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author | |
dc.subject | Electronic Engineering and Computer Science | en_US |
dc.subject | natural food webs. | en_US |
dc.subject | robustness | en_US |
dc.subject | Ecology | en_US |
dc.subject | Genetic Modification | en_US |
dc.title | Evaluation of the community response of ecological networks using complexity science | en_US |
dc.type | Thesis | en_US |