Within an ecosystem, species interact with each other in many different ways, including predation, competition, and facilitation, and this can be modelled as a network of multiple interaction types (called "multiplex" network). The variety of interaction types that link species to each other has long been recognized but has rarely been synthesized for entire multi-species ecosystems. In a first part, I will present our recent study [1] on a unique marine ecological network that integrates thousands of trophic and non-trophic interactions. Using network statistical modeling, we showed that the diverse interaction types have a suprinsingly simple non-random organization. In a second part, I will present our recent study [2] where we investigated the role of the diversity of interaction types per se for species diversity and the functioning of ecological communities, using a bio-energetic consumer-resource dynamical model in which we incorporated the non-trophic interactions.

En collaboration avec Sonia Kéfi (CNRS, Institut des sciences de l'évolution, Montpellier).

[1] Kéfi et al, PLoS Biol (2016), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002527
[2] Miele et al, biorxiv (2018), https://doi.org/10.1101/411249