The topology of spatial networks affects stability in experimental metacommunities

Understanding the drivers of community stability has been a central goal in ecology. Traditionally the emphasis has been placed on studying the effects of biotic interactions on community variability, and less is understood about how the spatial configuration of habitats promotes or hinders metacommunity stability. To test the effects of contrasting spatial configurations on metacommunity stability, I designed metacommunities with patches connected as random or scale-free networks. In these microcosms, two prey and one protist predator dispersed, and I evaluated community persistence, tracked biomass variations, and measured synchrony between local communities and their neighbors. After 30 generations, scale-free metacommunities had lower global biomass variability and higher persistence, suggesting higher stability. At the local scale, patches in scale-free metacommunities showed a positive relationship between variability and patch connectivity, indicating higher stability in isolated..., , , # The topology of spatial networks affects stability in experimental metacommunities

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.brv15dvgc](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.brv15dvgc)

Biomass data was used to calculate the coefficient of variation (CV) at the meta-community level and local community level.

## File structure

### **biomass\_variation.csv: raw community biomass**

* net_name: identification of network-level replicates
* network: type of network topology
* plate: identification of meta community-level replicates
* day: time

### **cv\_per\_spp.csv: CV calculated separately for each species at the meta-community level**

* net_name: identification of network-level replicates
* network: type of network topology
* plate: identification of meta community-level replicates
* p_cv: CV of *Paramecium tetraurelia*
* pb_cv: CV of *Paramecium bursaria*
* dil_cv: CV of *Dileptus anser*

### **data\_for\_local\_cv.csv: CV of biomass calculated at the local community level (i.e.,...