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_...,完整的潮间带食物网依赖于底栖无脊椎动物（benthic invertebrates）的存在与生产力。这些无脊椎动物可循环营养盐、分解有机质，并作为高营养级众多物种的食物来源。底栖无脊椎动物类群间的相互作用，同样对塑造该类生态系统的生态功能发挥着关键作用。本研究采用深度学习物种分布模型（deep-learning species distribution model），在纳入非生物因子的前提下，对潮间带底栖无脊椎动物群落内的种间相互作用进行表征。本数据集涵盖2008年至2020年间，在瓦登海（Wadden Sea）超过2400平方千米的空间网格内采集的3万余份样本。研究表明，瓦登海的底栖无脊椎动物可形成稳定群落：在由弱相互作用构成的大型网络中，物种间仅存在少量较强的相互作用。该结果佐证了关于群落稳定性与连通性关系的经典理论。我们为物种特异性分析提供了研究基石。 # 瓦登海底栖无脊椎动物形成以互利关系为特征的稳定群落 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gqnk98svd](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gqnk98svd) 本仓库包含与论文《瓦登海底栖无脊椎动物形成以互利关系为特征的稳定群落》（2024年已录用）配套的相关资料。 ## 数据与文件结构说明 论文分析所用的数据集与代码脚本均存储于**DRYAD**文件夹内，该文件夹包含两个子目录：**DATA**与**CODE**。 **备注**：SIBES调查项目的采样数据（包括沉积物组成、物种丰度及每份样本的生物量数据，用于本研究的Python代码分析）已由Bijleveld, A. I., Tacoma, M. & Koolhaas, A.公开发布，可通过数据集*Bijleveld, A. I., Tacoma, M. & Koolhaas, A*. SIBES dataset (2024) doi:10.25850/nioz/7b.b.ug获取。 * **DATA**文件夹包含三个子目录： * heatmap_data（1个文件） * *All_species_variables_...