Congratulations to Shai for his perspective paper on Multilayer Networks in Ecology published in Nature Ecology and Evolution today.
Ecological systems are complex and multifaceted. For example, species interact in diverse ways with multiple partners, and ecological communities change in time and space and interact to form meta-communities. Ecological complexity is typically examined using networks, but it is very difficult to systematically and simultaneously study the multiple facets of ecological networks. In this Perspective, we build on recent advances in network science to provide theoretical and practical guidelines for how to tackle multidimensionality in ecological networks by using multiple “layers” of complexity. Ecological multilayer networks have a strong potential to provide novel insights into the functioning and dynamics of ecological systems.