近日，国际著名杂志Science上刊登的一篇研究报告中，日本的研究人员报告说，在物种间的不同类型的相互作用可帮助稳定某个群落。
在许多情况下，多个物种可帮助某个生态系统的恢复能力，但新的结果显示，相互作用类型的多样性——诸如掠食、竞争和互利共生——也是重要的。到现在为止，大多数的研究只针对一种单一的相互作用类型。Akihiko Mougi 和 Michio Kondoh用一种理论模型显示，生态关系的多样性可稳定某个群落的种群数量动态，且它可能是维持其生物多样性本身的关键。
此外，在该所谓的“互动多样性”存在的情况下，一个较为复杂的群落会比一个较为不复杂的群落更稳定。这些发现因而可能为一种复杂的生态系统是如何在自然界持续存在的这一经典悖论提出解答，因为生态学理论预测由多个物种组成的一个复杂的群落在本质上是不稳定的。（生物谷Bioon.com）
doi:10.1126/science.1220529
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Diversity of Interaction Types and Ecological Community Stability
A. Mougi1, M. Kondoh1,2,*
Ecological theory predicts that a complex community formed by a number of species is inherently unstable, guiding ecologists to identify what maintains species diversity in nature. Earlier studies often assumed a community with only one interaction type, either an antagonistic, competitive, or mutualistic interaction, leaving open the question of what the diversity of interaction types contributes to the community maintenance. We show theoretically that the multiple interaction types might hold the key to understanding community dynamics. A moderate mixture of antagonistic and mutualistic interactions can stabilize population dynamics. Furthermore, increasing complexity leads to increased stability in a “hybrid” community. We hypothesize that the diversity of species and interaction types may be the essential element of biodiversity that maintains ecological communities
