Benthic invertebrates in the Wadden Sea form a stable community characterized by facilitating relationships

Entire tidal food webs rely on the presence and productivity of benthic invertebrates. These invertebrates recycle nutrients, decompose organic matter, and function as food for myriad species at higher trophic levels. The interactions between benthic invertebrate species also plays an important role in shaping the ecological functioning of these ecosystems. Here, we used a deep-learning species distribution model to characterise the interspecific interactions occurring in an intertidal benthic invertebrate community while accounting for abiotic factors. The data includes > 30 000 samples collected between 2008-2020, over a spatial grid of more than 2 400 km2 in the Wadden Sea.  The benthic invertebrates in the Wadden Sea were shown to form a stable community where species engage in relatively few strong interactions in a larger network of weak interactions. This corroborates classical theory on stability-connectivity relations. We provide a steppingstone for species-specific ana..., , , # Benthic invertebrates in the Wadden Sea form a stable community characterised by facilitating relationships

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gqnk98svd](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gqnk98svd)

This repository contains information accompanying the manuscript \"Benthic invertebrates in the Wadden Sea form a stable community characterized by facilitating relationships (2024, accepted)\". 

## Description of the data and file structure

The data and scripts used in the analysis presented in the manuscript are contained in the **DRYAD** folder. The folder has two subdirectories (**DATA** and **CODE**).**Note:** The sampling data from the SIBES campaign including data on sediment composition and species abundance uand biomasses per sample used in the Python code are stored and accessible via *Bijleveld, A. I., Tacoma, M. & Koolhaas, A*. SIBES dataset (2024) doi:10.25850/nioz/7b.b.ug.

* The **DATA** folder contains three subdirectories:
* heatmap_data (1 file)
* *All_species_variables_...,