Mutualistic networks

Mutualistic networks are the networks that maps all the mutualistic interaction between all the species in the studied ecosystem. Mutualism is the way two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other. Similar interactions within a species are known as co-operation. Mutualism can be contrasted with interspecific competition, in which each species experiences reduced fitness, and exploitation, or parasitism, in which one species benefits at the expense of the other. Symbiosis involves two species living in close proximity and includes relationships that are mutualistic, parasitic, and commensal. Symbiotic relationships are sometimes, but not always, mutualistic. The term “mutualism” was introduced by Pierre-Joseph van Beneden in 1876.

Measuring the exact fitness benefit to the individuals in a mutualistic relationship is not always straightforward, particularly when the individuals can receive benefits from a variety of species, for example most plant-pollinator mutualisms. It is therefore common to categorize mutualisms according to the closeness of the association, using terms such as obligate and facultative. Defining “closeness,” however, is also problematic. It can refer to mutual dependency (the species cannot live without one another) or the biological intimacy of the relationship in relation to physical closeness (e.g., one species living within the tissues of the other species).

The study of the mutualistic networks uses common tools of complex networks as robustness to study cascade extinctions or the structure of the network to understand patterns and process of the ecosystem.

See also

Coevolution, Complex networks

Papers

• Thébault, E., & Fontaine, C. (2010). Stability of ecological communities and the architecture of mutualistic and trophic networks. Science, 329(5993), 853-856.
• Bascompte, J., Jordano, P., Melián, C. J., & Olesen, J. M. (2003). The nested assembly of plant-animal mutualistic networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(16), 9383-9387.
• Boucher, D. H., James, S., & Keeler, K. H. (1982). The ecology of mutualism. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 13, 315-347.
• Bronstein, J. L. (1994). Conditional outcomes in mutualistic interactions. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 9(6), 214-217.
• Olesen, J. M., & Jordano, P. (2002). Geographic patterns in plant-pollinator mutualistic networks. Ecology, 83(9), 2416-2424.
• Bastolla, U., Fortuna, M. A., Pascual-García, A., Ferrera, A., Luque, B., & Bascompte, J. (2009). The architecture of mutualistic networks minimizes competition and increases biodiversity. Nature, 458(7241), 1018-1020.
• Lever, J. J., Nes, E. H., Scheffer, M., & Bascompte, J. (2014). The sudden collapse of pollinator communities. Ecology letters, 17(3), 350-359.

Books

• Bascompte, J., & Jordano, P. (2013). Mutualistic networks. Princeton University Press.
• Boucher, D. H. (1988). The biology of mutualism: ecology and evolution. Oxford University Press on Demand.