{"paper_id":"03676e16-4076-4c9a-a3fd-50ed7dce4b59","body_text":"This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint.\nYou must log in to post a comment.\nThere are no comments or no comments have been made public for this article.\nThis is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint.\nAdd a Comment\nYou must log in to post a comment.\nComments\nThere are no comments or no comments have been made public for this article.\nEcological networks provide a critical framework for understanding the architecture of biodiversity and predicting ecosystem responses to environmental change. However, the application of network ecology is often hindered by a lack of clarity regarding the assumptions inherent in different network representations. Here, we present a hierarchical framework that distinguishes between ‘metawebs’ (representing the fundamental feasibility of interactions) and ‘realised webs’ (representing interactions expressed in specific spatiotemporal contexts). We contrast our conceptual approach with recent data-centric reviews, focusing instead on the theoretical gradients that govern network construction. We identify five core processes that drive the transition from potential to realised interactions: evolutionary compatibility and co-occurrence, which define the feasibility of links; and abundance, diet choice, and non-trophic interactions, which determine their realisation. Furthermore, we map these processes onto a methodological spectrum of network construction, distinguishing between inductive approaches (*e.g.,* trait-matching and stochastic models) that infer structure from observation, and deductive approaches (*e.g.,* neutral and optimal foraging models) that generate structure from mechanistic first principles. By making explicit the assumptions and scale-dependent processes underpinning these different representations, this framework clarifies the scope of inference possible with each approach, ultimately facilitating more robust predictions of biodiversity dynamics in the anthropocene.\nhttps://doi.org/10.32942/X2JW8K\nEcology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology\nfood web, network construction, biodiversity, scale and process, interaction modelling\nPublished: 2026-01-21 17:40\nLast Updated: 2026-01-21 17:40\nCC BY Attribution 4.0 International\nConflict of interest statement:\nNone\nData and Code Availability Statement:\nNot applicable\nLanguage:\nEnglish","source_license":"CC-BY-4.0","license_restricted":false}