Ecological networks: information theory meets Darwin's entangled bank

Curr Biol. 2007 Feb 20;17(4):R128-30. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2007.01.028.

Abstract

Is it possible to untangle the 'entangled bank'--Darwin's metaphor for the complexity and connectedness of species in the natural world? Studies on webs of species interactions suggest so, but a major question remains unanswered: how specialized are different ecological networks? By considering how strongly species interact with each other, information theory may give the answer.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Biological*
  • Ecosystem*
  • Information Theory
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Species Specificity
  • Symbiosis*