Mutualistic Networks / / Pedro Jordano, Jordi Bascompte.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2014-2015
• VerfasserIn: Bascompte, Jordi,; Jordano, Pedro,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2013]; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Edition: Core Textbook
• Language: English
• Series: Monographs in Population Biology ; 53
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (224 p.) :; 2 halftones. 88 line illus.

Mutualistic interactions among plants and animals have played a paramount role in shaping biodiversity. Yet the majority of studies on mutualistic interactions have involved only a few species, as opposed to broader mutual connections between communities of organisms. Mutualistic Networks is the first book to comprehensively explore this burgeoning field. Integrating different approaches, from the statistical description of network structures to the development of new analytical frameworks, Jordi Bascompte and Pedro Jordano describe the architecture of these mutualistic networks and show their importance for the robustness of biodiversity and the coevolutionary process. Making a case for why we should care about mutualisms and their complex networks, this book offers a new perspective on the study and synthesis of this growing area for ecologists and evolutionary biologists. It will serve as the standard reference for all future work on mutualistic interactions in biological communities.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- CHAPTER ONE. Biodiversity and Plant-Animal Coevolution -- CHAPTER TWO. An Introduction to Complex Networks -- CHAPTER THREE. The Structure of Plant-Animal Mutualistic Networks -- CHAPTER FOUR. Ecological and Evolutionary Mechanisms -- CHAPTER FIVE. Mutualistic Networks in Time and Space -- CHAPTER SIX. Consequences of Network Structure -- CHAPTER SEVEN. Epilogue -- APPENDIX A. Indices Used in Mutualistic Network Analyses -- APPENDIX B. Fitting Degree Distributions -- APPENDIX C. Measures of Nestedness -- APPENDIX D. Measures of Modularity -- APPENDIX E. Phylogenetic Methods and Network Analysis -- APPENDIX F. Null Models for Assessing Network Structure -- APPENDIX G. An Analytical Theory of Mutualistic Networks -- APPENDIX H. Software for the Analysis of Complex Networks -- Bibliography -- Index -- Backmatter