October 2008 | Carsten F. Dormann, Bernd Gruber and Jochen Friind
The bipartite R package is introduced for analyzing ecological networks with two trophic levels. It provides functions to visualize and calculate indices describing patterns in ecological webs. The package focuses on bipartite networks, such as pollination or predator-prey systems, where species are divided into two groups, and interactions occur between them. The package includes functions for visualizing networks, such as plotweb and visweb, and calculates various network-level descriptors, including generality, vulnerability, and nestedness. It also includes 19 pollinator network datasets. The package addresses two main deficiencies in the field: lack of software for calculating indices and no convenient plotting tool for bipartite networks. The package includes functions for calculating network metrics, such as specieslevel and networklevel, which provide information on species specialization, dependence asymmetry, and other network properties. The package also includes null models for bipartite networks, such as shuffle.web and swap.web, to test the significance of network patterns. The package is designed to help ecologists analyze ecological networks and understand the patterns and processes that shape them. The authors note that while the package provides many useful tools, there are still several missing descriptors, and they welcome contributions to further improve the package. The package is intended to help ecologists better understand the complex interactions that occur in ecological networks.The bipartite R package is introduced for analyzing ecological networks with two trophic levels. It provides functions to visualize and calculate indices describing patterns in ecological webs. The package focuses on bipartite networks, such as pollination or predator-prey systems, where species are divided into two groups, and interactions occur between them. The package includes functions for visualizing networks, such as plotweb and visweb, and calculates various network-level descriptors, including generality, vulnerability, and nestedness. It also includes 19 pollinator network datasets. The package addresses two main deficiencies in the field: lack of software for calculating indices and no convenient plotting tool for bipartite networks. The package includes functions for calculating network metrics, such as specieslevel and networklevel, which provide information on species specialization, dependence asymmetry, and other network properties. The package also includes null models for bipartite networks, such as shuffle.web and swap.web, to test the significance of network patterns. The package is designed to help ecologists analyze ecological networks and understand the patterns and processes that shape them. The authors note that while the package provides many useful tools, there are still several missing descriptors, and they welcome contributions to further improve the package. The package is intended to help ecologists better understand the complex interactions that occur in ecological networks.