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Coastal food web changed over 125 years but kept stable trophic structure

A coastal tidal zone at low tide showing exposed mudflats and shallow tidal pools covered in green algae, with a rocky shoreline, sparse vegetation on the hillside above, and calm waters in the background under clear blue sky.
Research area:EcologyEcology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsEcological Modeling

What the study found

A coastal food web in a tidal basin of the northern Wadden Sea changed over 125 years, but its trophic structure remained stable. The food web became richer in species and less complex over time.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors conclude that reconstructing past changes can improve understanding of the current state of food webs and support predictions of their future development. They also say the approach helps assess long-term ecosystem change when data are limited and inconsistent.

What the researchers tested

The researchers combined historical and recent species composition data from the past 125 years. They translated these data into a network using a metaweb framework, which is a way to represent possible species interactions, and then applied topological network analysis.

What worked and what didn't

Structural changes were mainly seen in predator-prey interactions and network connectance, and these were linked to changes in predator composition and the increasing presence of introduced non-native species. In contrast, trophic composition, energy transfer efficiency, and structural robustness stayed constant across the 125-year period.

What to keep in mind

The abstract does not describe specific limitations beyond noting the trade-off between data availability, data consistency, and methodological validity. The findings are limited to one coastal food web in a single tidal basin over the time period studied.

Key points

  • The coastal food web changed in organization over 125 years.
  • Trophic composition, energy transfer efficiency, and structural robustness remained constant.
  • Predator-prey interactions and network connectance were the main structural changes.
  • Those changes were linked to shifts in predator composition and more introduced non-native species.
  • The metaweb framework was presented as suitable for long-term, semi-quantitative food-web analysis.

Disclosure

Research title:
Coastal food web changed over 125 years but kept stable trophic structure
Authors:
Joel Habedank, Sabine Horn, Harald Ahnelt, Christian Buschbaum, Annika Cornelius, Peter Lemke, Jasmin Renz, Andreas M. Waser, Karen Helen Wiltshire
Institutions:
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Natural History Museum Vienna, University of Vienna, Senckenberg am Meer, Trinity College Dublin
Publication date:
2026-03-14
DOI:
10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2026.111545
OpenAlex record:
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AI provenance: This post was generated by OpenAI. The original authors did not write or review this post.

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