Mutualistic Networks

(Hardback)

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Description

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.

Reviews

Winner of the 2016 BES Marsh Christian Trust Book Award, British Ecological Association "[A]ll ecologists will benefit from reading [Mutualistic Networks], giving this audience a better understanding of the network perspective on mutualism."--Choice "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 any future work on mutualistic interactions in biological communities."--Biotechnology, Agronomy, Society and Environment "Mutualistic Networks is a book that presents a highly dynamic field in its entire breadth and historic development. [A]nyone interested in a passionate layout of a multifaceted and ecologically exciting research area will want to read it."--Carsten F. Dormann, Basic and Applied Ecology "[T]his excellent and unique book provides novel insights into ecological and coevolutionary dynamics of interacting species."--Wesley Dattilo, Journal of Complex Networks "Bascompte and Jordano ... logically and thoroughly guide the reader through the theories and tools used to understand, and the importance of understanding, the complexity of mutualistic networks."--Luke S. O'Loughlin, Austral Ecology

Author Bio

Jordi Bascompte is a professor at the Spanish Research Council. He is the coauthor of "Self-Organization in Complex Ecosystems" (Princeton). Pedro Jordano is a professor at the Spanish Research Council and honorary professor at the University of Sevilla.