Data from: Ecosystem engineers shape ecological network structure and stability: a framework and literature review

Ecosystem engineering is a ubiquitous process where species influence the
physical environment and thereby structure ecological communities.
However, there has been little effort to synthesise or predict how
ecosystem engineering may impact the structure and stability of
interaction networks. To assess the current scientific understanding of
ecosystem engineering impacts via habitat forming, habitat modification,
and bioturbation on interaction networks/food webs, we reviewed the
literature covering marine, freshwater, and terrestrial food webs,
plant-pollinator networks, and theory. We provide a conceptual framework
and identify three major pathways of engineering impact on networks
through changes in resource availability and energy flow, habitat
heterogeneity, and environmental filtering. These three processes often
work in concert and most studies report that engineering increases species
richness. This is particularly marked for engineers that increase habitat
heterogeneity and thereby the number of available niches. The response of
network structure to ecosystem engineering varies, however some patterns
emerge from this review. Engineered habitat heterogeneity leads to a
higher number of links between species in the networks and increases link
density. Connectance can be negatively or positively affected by ecosystem
engineer impact, depending on the engineering pathway and the engineer
impact of species richness. We discuss how ecosystem engineers can
stabilize or destabilize communities through the changes in niche space,
diversity, network structure, and the dependency on the engineering
impact. Theory and empirical evidence need to inform each other to better
integrate ecosystem engineering and ecological networks. A mechanistic
understanding how ecosystem engineering traits shape interactions networks
and their stability will be important to predict species extinctions and
can provide crucial information for conservation and ecosystem
restoration.