Ecological networks articles from across Nature Portfolio

Dynamic connectivity framework with time-evolving corridor strategies shows pervasive turnover in core areas and shifting corridor priorities through time in a proof-of-concept corridor priorities experiment for four major taxonomic groups, whereas static and single-dimension models underestimate long-term exposure

Ecological network rewiring occurs when either natural variation or anthropogenic change alters the nodes of a network and/or the strength of its links. In this Review, the authors discuss common mechanisms that underlie rewiring, empirical and theoretical examples of rewiring, and the ecological implications under global change.

Quantification of links among insect pollinators, crop plants, nutrient intake and income of smallholder communities in Nepal show that pollinators substantially contribute to their income and micronutrient intake.

Plant community properties affect ecosystem functioning via energy fluxes in food webs, with the leaf and root resource economics of dominant tree species controlling soil food web multifunctionality.

Compressed gradients in small coastal rivers drive strong sediment microbial turnovers, with deterministic bacterial assembly and stochastic fungal assembly producing contrasting spatial hotspots and dilution zones, based on full‑length rRNA sequencing across river-estuary-offshore continua.

Global conservation agendas now emphasize habitat connectivity, with the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calling for well-connected systems by 2030. These efforts focus strongly on connectivity benefits while dismissing costs, despite emerging evidence for potential negative effects. Further empirical assessment of the costs of connectivity, and the incorporation of these risks into connectivity decision-making, is urgently needed.

Comparative analyses of the behaviour of individual animals across multiple populations are rare. We analysed the relationship between local population density and individual behaviour across 36 wild animal populations, which revealed that both spatial and social networks increase in connectivity with density, nonlinearly, and that there are strong differences between these networks.

Climate warming can impact predators directly as well as indirectly by affecting their prey and habitat. How predators respond to such changes is largely unknown. Now, experimental work shows the ability of spiders to adjust their webs in response to warming-induced changes in plant communities that alter prey size distributions.

Species co-occurrences have long been used as proxies for interactions, but not all co-occurring species interact. A study now reveals that super-generalist consumers realize a higher portion of their potential interactions in bipartite networks.

Causal links between plankton taxa were inferred using long-term data from ten Swiss lakes, revealing the effect of warming and nutrient levels on entire ecological networks. The resulting model suggests that warming generally reduces the number of network interactions and alters which taxa control the food webs.

A study of plant–pollinator networks in a fragmented island landscape in China finds that habitat edges might not be bad for biodiversity.