The Necessity of Multitrophic Approaches in Community Ecology

Abstract

Trophic interactions are a fundamental part of ecosystems; yet, most ecological studies focus on single trophic levels and this hampers our ability to detect the underlying mechanisms structuring communities as well as the effects of environmental change. Here, we argue that the historical dominance of studying competition within trophic levels, and the focus on taxonomic groups without differentiating the trophic level, has led to the under-representation of multitrophic research in community ecology. There are many hurdles that challenge multitrophic approaches and we discuss solutions to overcome these. To advance our understanding of the fundamental drivers of community assembly and to provide the necessary guidance for managing and mitigating the effects of environmental change, we argue that ecologists should better align research with a trophically inclusive definition of a community.

Keywords: community ecology; environmental change; food web; trophic interaction.