Chapter 4 - Evolutionary Ecological Networks

Abstract

In ecological networks, network robustness should be large enough to confer intrinsic robustness for tolerating intrinsic parameter fluctuations and environmental robustness for resisting environmental disturbances so that the phenotype stability of the ecological network (community stability) can be maintained, thus guaranteeing phenotype robustness. Based on global linearization, central difference, and spatial state space methods, this chapter develops a unifying mathematical system framework for investigating the principles of both robust stabilization and environmental disturbance sensitivity in ecological networks. Further, from the unifying mathematical system framework, we found that the phenotype robustness (community stability) criterion for ecological networks is that if intrinsic robustness+environmental robustness≦network robustness, then the phenotype robustness can be maintained in spite of intrinsic parameter fluctuations and environmental disturbances. Therefore, the tradeoffs between intrinsic robustness, environmental robustness, and network robustness in ecological networks can also be investigated through their corresponding phenotype robustness criterion from the systematic point of view.