Humans have harvested the sea for tens of thousands of years, but only in the past few centuries have we begun to take a big toll on ecosystems. The two food webs below show predatory relationships among life-forms in the northern Adriatic Sea. Each web comprises humans, their prey and the prey of humans’ prey, distilled into groups of species.
The webs, produced by Jennifer A. Dunne of the Santa Fe Institute from evidence compiled by Heike K. Lotze and Marta Coll of Dalhousie University in Halifax, show that as recently as 1800 none of the Adriatic species groups had yet grown “rare,” or dropped below 10 percent of their former abundance. By the late 20th century, when the global economy had replaced local trade, 10 groups had gone extinct or rare, eliminating them from the webs.
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Graphic by Jennifer A. Dunne. Interactive by Ryan Reid.
» Watch a video about food webs in this month's Graphic Science Web Exclusive "Food Webs Trace the Structure of an Ecosystem."
This article was published in print as "The Dwindling Web."
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
