Theory of modularity limiting disturbance effects found to be sound using springtails

(Phys.org)—A team of researchers from Spain, Switzerland and Canada has used common springtails to prove the soundness of a theory that suggests that modularity limits disturbance effects in networks. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their experiments and what they observed. Marta Sales-Pardo with Universitat Rovira i Virgili offers a Perspective piece on the work done by the team in the same issue along with a short history of the theory behind the work