Habitat modification alters the structure of tropical host–parasitoid food webs

• Published in: Nature Vol. 445; no. 7124; pp. 202 - 205
• Main Authors: Tylianakis, Jason M., Tscharntke, Teja, Lewis, Owen T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 11.01.2007; Nature Publishing; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Agriculture; agroecosystems; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Bees - physiology; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Biological control; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Crops, Agricultural - metabolism; Crops, Agricultural - parasitology; Ecology; Ecosystem services; Ecuador; Environmental degradation: ecosystems survey and restoration; Food Chain; Food webs; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; habitat destruction; Habitats; Host-Parasite Interactions; Human Activities; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hymenoptera; insect ecology; land use change; letter; multidisciplinary; Nesting; Parasites; Parasitism; parasitoids; Plants - metabolism; Plants - parasitology; Pollen - physiology; Pollination; Reproduction - physiology; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Species diversity; Species richness; Synecology; Tropical Climate; tropical forests; tropics; Wasps - physiology; Ecuador; Community structure; Host parasite relation; Insecta; Trophic structure; Tropical zone; Trophic relation; Change; Perturbation; Biodiversity; Host selection; Species diversity; Parasitoid; Food web; Arthropoda; Habitat; Parasitism; Invertebrata; Comparative study; Interspecific relation; Anthropogenic factor

A tangled web Global change has the potential to influence species interactions, but the consequences for ecosystem function and stability are hard to predict. Quantitative food webs provide a powerful tool to probe such questions, but to date they have been used mainly to describe individual commun...