Higher-order interactions in ecology can be hidden in plain sight
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arXiv
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| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
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| Acceso en línea: | |
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| _version_ | 1866909022012047360 |
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| author | Calleja-Solanas, Violeta Lamata-Otín, Santiago Gómez-Ambrosi, Carlos Gómez-Gardeñes, Jesús Meloni, Sandro |
| author_facet | Calleja-Solanas, Violeta Lamata-Otín, Santiago Gómez-Ambrosi, Carlos Gómez-Gardeñes, Jesús Meloni, Sandro |
| contents | Higher-order interactions are increasingly recognized as a key component of ecological dynamics. However, we show that higher-order Lotka-Volterra dynamics can, in some scenarios, be accurately reproduced by effective pairwise models fitted to the same abundance time series. Consequently, higher-order interactions cannot, in general, be inferred from time-series data alone. We further identify a fundamental problem of mechanistic identifiability, whereby distinct interaction mechanisms generate nearly indistinguishable dynamics, potentially leading to accurate yet misleading ecological interpretations. Our results highlight the need to complement time-series data with additional ecological information to infer interaction structure reliably. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_06301 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Higher-order interactions in ecology can be hidden in plain sight Calleja-Solanas, Violeta Lamata-Otín, Santiago Gómez-Ambrosi, Carlos Gómez-Gardeñes, Jesús Meloni, Sandro Populations and Evolution Statistical Mechanics Physics and Society Higher-order interactions are increasingly recognized as a key component of ecological dynamics. However, we show that higher-order Lotka-Volterra dynamics can, in some scenarios, be accurately reproduced by effective pairwise models fitted to the same abundance time series. Consequently, higher-order interactions cannot, in general, be inferred from time-series data alone. We further identify a fundamental problem of mechanistic identifiability, whereby distinct interaction mechanisms generate nearly indistinguishable dynamics, potentially leading to accurate yet misleading ecological interpretations. Our results highlight the need to complement time-series data with additional ecological information to infer interaction structure reliably. |
| title | Higher-order interactions in ecology can be hidden in plain sight |
| topic | Populations and Evolution Statistical Mechanics Physics and Society |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.06301 |