The untapped potential of food webs in systematic conservation planning

O'Connor, L., Thuiller, W., Brose, U., Chenevois, É., Freund, C., Gauzens, B., Gaüzere, P., Graham, C., Harfoot, M., Hirt, M.R., Lavergne, S., Maiorano, L., Moilanen, A., Verburg, P.H., Visconti, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6823-2826, & Pollock, L.J. (2026). The untapped potential of food webs in systematic conservation planning. Conservation Letters 19 (1) e70002. 10.1111/con4.70002Digital.

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Abstract

International conservation policy includes the dual aims of protecting biodiversity and nature's contributions to people (NCP). Achieving these goals requires protecting not only species and habitats but also the networks of biotic interactions that sustain them. Food webs, which represent predator-prey interactions between species, are increasingly recognised as a link between ecosystem structure, function, and resilience, which are concepts that are frequently cited in conservation policy. Yet, conservation planning and policy typically focus on individual species and habitats and overlook the interactions that support their persistence. We review the literature at the intersection of food web ecology and conservation, and highlight how food webs can inform three conservation goals: preventing species extinctions, maintaining ecosystem functions and NCP, and fostering ecosystem resilience. Food web data and metrics, such as interaction diversity, trophic diversity, connectance, or modularity, can be used to prioritize species that are key to ecosystem structure and functioning, and to guide spatial prioritization to protect functionally diverse and resilient communities. Given the growing availability of food web data, incorporating food webs in conservation planning can lead to more effective and resilient conservation outcomes that sustain biodiversity and ecosystem functions in the long term.

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