The Ultimate Forest Food Web: 100 Years of Ecosystem Insights
Imagine walking through a forest, surrounded by towering trees, rustling leaves, and the distant hum of insects. Now, imagine trying to trace every single interaction happening in that ecosystem—from the tiniest ant nibbling on a leaf to a hawk soaring above, searching for its next meal. Sounds overwhelming, doesn’t it? That's the immense complexity scientists are tackling when they study terrestrial ecosystems.
But here's the kicker: many of these interactions, especially the ones involving plants and insects, have often been left out of food web studies because getting that detailed information can be so challenging. By harnessing a century’s worth of data from a Michigan-based biological research station, however, some of these mysteries have now been unlocked: Welcome to the Michigan Temperate Forest (MTF) food web—the largest and most detailed food web ever constructed, with a whopping 580,000 interactions among 3,800 species!
This massive project and resultant paper didn't just happen overnight. It was a long-term endeavor - started during lead author Dr. Hale’s PhD program and completed during her tenure here at the CEM - and it's not just a static document. The MTF food web is a living, breathing dataset that anyone can access, update, and build upon.
By comparing the MTF with other food webs, we’ve been able to uncover key differences in how aboveground terrestrial ecosystems function compared to other habitats. This groundbreaking resource is a crucial tool for future research and ecosystem management.
So, whether you’re a researcher, an ecologist, or just someone who loves the great outdoors, the MTF food web is a treasure trove of information just waiting to be explored.
Hale, K. R. S., Curlis, J. D., Auteri, G. G., Bishop, S., French, R. L. K., Jones, L. E., Mills, K. L., Scholtens, B. G., Simons, M., Thompson, C., Tourville, J., & Valdovinos, F. S. (2024). A highly resolved network reveals the role of terrestrial herbivory in structuring aboveground food webs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 379(1897).