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Our preprint “Local and regional processes drive distance decay in structure in a spatial multilayer plant-pollinator network” is now available on EcoEvoRxiv!

Our latest preprint, published on November 21, 2023, in EcoEvoRxiv, explores the intricate spatial dynamics of plant-pollinator communities across the Canary Islands. Using a unique multilayer network approach, we reveal how community structures evolve with geographical distance on a regional scale. Our findings highlight the important influence of local and regional processes in shaping these patterns.

The study provides a general framework for linking communities in space using multilayer networks and can be applied to other systems beyond plant-pollinator networks. You can access the full preprint here.

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Our new research, “Scale-dependent signatures of microbial co-occurrence revealed via multilayer network analysis,” is now available on EcoEvoRxiv!

The study uses the rumen microbiome of 1,012 cows in seven European farms as a case study to explore the complex interactions between microbes in highly diverse environments. Through multilayer network analysis, we unveil scale-dependent signatures of microbial co-occurrence, shedding light on the underlying processes that structure these networks. The multilayer network analysis approach used in this study could be applied to other contexts to study microbial communities and their functions. Read the full preprint here: EcoEvoRxiv

 

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Our paper was published in “Methods in Ecology and Evolution”. Give the EMLN R package a try.

Our article “Practical guidelines and the EMLN R package for handling ecological multilayer networks” was published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution on October 18, 2023. We’ve developed the EMLN R package, which simplifies working with ecological multilayer networks. It helps organize your multilayer network to use it with other popular tools. Plus, we’ve included practice data sets and step-by-step examples to help you get started.

Give the EMLN R package a try for your multilayer network.

You can access the published article via this DOI link: http://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14225 

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Our research on cancer and ecological networks published in ‘Nature Communications’!

Our paper, “Ecological network analysis reveals cancer-dependent chaperone-client interaction structure and robustness, ” was officially published in “Nature Communications” on October 7th, 2023. 

By bringing concepts from ecological networks and applying them to molecular biology, we found a non-random, hierarchical pattern within the chaperone-client interaction networks operating in different cancer tissues. These findings could inform the development of cancer-specific drug therapies targeting these key chaperone-client interaction network components.

Access the complete article by following this DOI link: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41906-2.

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Modeling microbiome dynamics. A productive week after EcoNet2023.

Following EcoNet2023, Johannes Nauta (postdoctoral researcher, Dept. of Physics, University of Padua, Italy) extended his stay in our lab for an extra week as part of our HFSP-funded collaboration project. Ying Jie and Johannes led intensive discussions and worked hard to model microbiome population dynamics under perturbations using different approaches. Johannes employed ODE systems in his modeling approach, while Ying Jie explored the domain of agent-based modeling. It was a productive week and we are looking forward to the results.

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6th Symposium on Ecological Networks (EcoNet2023), September 4-7, 2023

This year, Shai hosted the EcoNet2023 workshop (Ecological networks from theory to application) at Ben Gurion University, Israel.

Seeing everything come together after all the planning and hard work was exciting. Shai’s hard work and dedication made this workshop a reality.

Four days are full of multiple kinds of activities from keynote talks to invited talks, posters, working groups, deep-dives, dinner, and a hike.

This mix of activities was designed to engage participants in discussions, develop new ideas, make valuable connections to form collaborations in the future, and learn new methods.
Hope that all participants took full advantage of this enriching opportunity.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars – EcoNet2025 will take place in Newcastle!

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Our new paper on EcoEvoRxiv, “Practical guidelines and the EMLN R package for handling ecological multilayer networks.”

Our new paper introduces the EMLN R package, a tool for analyzing multilayer networks. It provides practical guidelines and detailed code examples, making it easier for researchers to handle ecological multilayer networks (EMLNs). The package standardizes data structures and enables easy conversion for downstream analysis with common packages. Additionally, it offers practice data sets to help researchers get started with multilayer network analysis confidently. Detailed explanations on workflows accompanied by examples for handling monolayer and multilayer data using emln are in the link. Take a look at the paper here.

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Our NetSci 2023 experience: excellent talks and networking opportunities

In July 2023, our lab had the excellent opportunity to participate in the NetSci 2023 conference, organized by the Network Science Society, in the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria. Our lab made its mark with the excellent talks delivered by Shai, Sharon, Matan, and Tino. The conference was a productive venue for enhancing existing collaborations, initiating new partnerships, extending warm birthday wishes to Matan, and reconnecting with a former lab member.

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