A theoretical study on the environmental determinants of food-web evolution

什么环境因素决定食物链长度（食物网中营养级的数量）？虽然以前的假设认为初级生产力、干扰或生态系统规模是一个重要的决定因素，但最近的实证研究倾向于发现生态系统规模的强烈影响。我们使用了一个包含所有三个潜在决定因素的数学模型来显示生态系统规模的最大影响。这一理论解释了现有的经验模式，可能对渔业和农业生态系统的管理有用。

What environmental factors determine food-chain length (the number of trophic levels in food webs)? While previous hypotheses consider primary productivity, disturbance, or ecosystem size as an important determinant, recent empirical works tend to find a strong effect of ecosystem size. We used a mathematical model incorporating all three potential determinants to show the strongest influence of ecosystem size. This theory explains the existing empirical pattern, and may be useful for the management of fishery and agricultural ecosystems.