Number of trophic levels in ecological communities

Number of trophic levels in ecological communities

ECOLOGICAL food chains are typically short, consisting of not more than four or five trophic levels. This is usually explained by a reduction in the energy which is available to successive links in the food chain 1,2 . In contrast, we believe that the number of trophic levels is constrained by popul...

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Veröffentlicht in:Nature (London) 1977-01, Vol.268 (5618), p.329-331
Hauptverfasser: Pimm, S.L, Lawton, J.H
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
arthropods
entomology
Humanities and Social Sciences
insects
letter
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Zusammenfassung:ECOLOGICAL food chains are typically short, consisting of not more than four or five trophic levels. This is usually explained by a reduction in the energy which is available to successive links in the food chain 1,2 . In contrast, we believe that the number of trophic levels is constrained by population dynamics and not by ecological energetics.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/268329a0