From simple rules to complex networks

In this blog post, Blanca Arroyo-Correa tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Mutual networks emerge from the interplay of abundance, behaviour and spatial constraints“, recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. The study utilised agent-based models to understand if individual interactions can be used to understand complex plant-pollinator networks . From forests and coral reefs to the microbes living inside our bodies, nature is … Continue reading From simple rules to complex networks

Go Big or Go Home: Pitcher plant hosts and their crab spider tenants

The carnivorous traps of Nepenthes pitcher plants are sometimes inhabited by a species of crab spider which ambushes insects as they arrive at traps. Recently published work by Weng Ngai Lam and Hugh Tan showed that this apparent thievery is actually beneficial to the plants — but only when crab spiders attack big prey with high nutrient contents. Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap … Continue reading Go Big or Go Home: Pitcher plant hosts and their crab spider tenants