Food Web Modeling

Many features of a food web are semi- to fully quantitative and are subject to uncertainty. Various techniques have been developed to describe these features. Others have been developed to model food web dynamics for purposes that include prediction. Yet, few approaches facilitate systematic, unified conclusions to be readily drawn about the food web's characteristics. Even fewer address the uncertainty that is inherent in the behavior of organisms within the web and in the surrounding environment. Recently, statistical modeling techniques have been adapted to food web research; they allow the investigator to simultaneously address multiple questions about the food web of interest under a unified quantitative framework, while fully exploiting the important role that uncertainty plays in food web ecology. This article reviews some conventional methods for drawing insights into food webs, and discusses recent statistical developments in food web research. Some details of the latter on network flows are provided.