Key species in food web simulations: quantifying human influence

Abstract

Biodiversity assessment is crucial for managing natural ecosystems, but we also need a much better functional understanding of ecological systems. I propose a systems ecological modeling framework supporting dynamical simulation of food webs, quantifying sensitivity to disturbance and identifying the key components of ecosystems. Importantly, I focus on variability and its role in systems dynamics, and present a method to determine causal relationships in the studied systems. For illustration, I will present data describing the Kelian river food web (Borneo). In this ecosystem, we can also demonstrate and quantify the ecological influence of human presence. These results may help systems-based conservation efforts and adaptive management scenarios in the future.