Number of trophic levels in ecological communities
Published
Journal Article
ECOLOGICAL food chains are typically short, consisting of not more than four or five trophic levels. This is usually explained by a reduction in the energy which is available to successive links in the food chain1,2. In contrast, we believe that the number of trophic levels is constrained by population dynamics and not by ecological energetics. © 1977 Nature Publishing Group.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Pimm, SL; Lawton, JH
Published Date
- December 1, 1977
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 268 / 5618
Start / End Page
- 329 - 331
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0028-0836
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1038/268329a0
Citation Source
- Scopus