Incluye bibliografía: páginas 179-200 e índice: páginas 201-206

Preface.. Chapter 1. Biodiversity and Plant-Animal Coevolution.. Historical Overview.. A Bit of Natural History.. Coevolution in Multispecific Mutualisms.. Summary.. Chapter 2. An Introduction to Complex Networks.. A Network Approach to Complex Systems.. Measures of Network Structure.. Models of Network Buildup.. Ecological Networks.. Summary.. Chapter 3. The Structure of Plant-Animal Mutualistic Networks.. Degree Distribution.. Nestedness.. Small World.. Modularity.. Weighted Networks.. Comparisons with other Ecological Networks.. Summary.. Chapter 4. Ecological and Evolutionary Mechanisms.. Single Ecological Traits.. Phylogenetic Effects.. Summary.. Chapter 5. Mutualistic Networks in Time and Space.. Network Dynamics.. Spatial Mosaics.. Sampling and Robustness.. Summary.. Chapter 6. Consequences of Network Structure.. Coextinction Cascades.. Dynamic Stability.. Global Change and Mutualistic Networks.. Coevolutionary Implications.. Implications for Nonbiological Systems.. Summary .. Chapter 7. 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.. Fixed Points and Local Stability.. Effects of Network Structure on Competition and Biodiversity.. Appendix H. Software for the Analysis of Complex Networks.. Bibliography.. Index

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. Inglés