Scaling from Metawebs to Realised Webs: A Hierarchical Approach to Network Ecology

Tanya Strydom, Alexander M Dunhill, Jennifer A Dunne, Timothée Poisot , Andrew P Beckerman

Ecological networks provide a critical framework for understanding the architecture of biodiversity and predicting ecosystem responses to environmental change. However, the application of network ecology is often hindered by a lack of clarity regarding the assumptions inherent in different network representations. Here, we present a hierarchical framework that distinguishes between ‘metawebs’ (representing the fundamental feasibility of interactions) and ‘realised webs’ (representing interactions expressed in specific spatiotemporal contexts). We contrast our conceptual approach with recent data-centric reviews, focusing instead on the theoretical gradients that govern network construction. We identify five core processes that drive the transition from potential to realised interactions: evolutionary compatibility and co-occurrence, which define the feasibility of links; and abundance, diet choice, and non-trophic interactions, which determine their realisation. Furthermore, we map these processes onto a methodological spectrum of network construction, distinguishing between inductive approaches (*e.g.,* trait-matching and stochastic models) that infer structure from observation, and deductive approaches (*e.g.,* neutral and optimal foraging models) that generate structure from mechanistic first principles. By making explicit the assumptions and scale-dependent processes underpinning these different representations, this framework clarifies the scope of inference possible with each approach, ultimately facilitating more robust predictions of biodiversity dynamics in the anthropocene.