Contrasting reductionistic versus holistic views, it is a general question whether adding the parts equals the sum. In the time of multiple drivers of anthropogenic change, it is a crucial issue, and better understanding additivity is critical for strategy and management. More particular research questions ask what are the community effects of the extinction of a single species and whether multiple local effects on different species will generate additive community responses. Here we perform food web simulations and study the community response to perturbing each species, one by one, and perturbing each possible pairwise combination of species. By comparing the two, we quantify additivity and analyze how does it depend on the topological positions of perturbed species pairs. Results increase the predictability of food web research, supporting systems-based conservation management and, possibly, multi-species maximum sustainable yield assessment in fisheries.

与还原论与整体论相比，将各部分相加是否等于总和是一个普遍的问题。在人为变化的多重驱动因素时代，这是一个至关重要的问题，更好地理解可加性对于战略和管理至关重要。更具体的研究问题询问单个物种灭绝的社区影响是什么，以及对不同物种的多个局部影响是否会产生加性的社区反应。在这里，我们进行食物网模拟并研究社区对每个物种一个接一个地干扰，以及每个可能的成对组合干扰的响应。通过比较两者，我们量化了可加性并分析了它如何取决于被干扰物种对的拓扑位置。结果提高了食物网研究的可预测性，