Ecological Food Web

Trophic network structure and population dynamics

Producers (plants) Primary consumers Secondary consumers Apex predators
0.20
12
0.05
Food web structure determines ecological stability. The May-Wigner theorem predicts stability when SC½ < 1 (S=species, C=connectance, σ=interaction strength). Trophic cascades occur when a keystone predator is removed. Real food webs show omnivory, loops, and scale-free topology — all stabilizing features absent from May's random model.