THE EFFECTS OF HABITAT SIZE AND ENERGY ON FOOD-WEB STRUCTURE - AN INDIVIDUAL-BASED CELLULAR-AUTOMATA MODEL

It has been suggested that habitat size may affect food web structure. In this paper, I discuss three possible mechanisms: biogeographic eff ects, the productive space hypothesis and spatial effects on the persi stence of unstable predator-prey systems. A multispecies, individual-b ased cellular automata model, representing small, freshwater, benthic habitats, is developed which allows these mechanisms to be explored in more detail. The model suggests that biogeographic effects, and spati al effects on the persistence of unstable predator-prey systems, may b e important, but the effects of productivity are more complex than the productive space hypothesis assumes. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.