Abstract:
Network analysis is a phenomenological approach that holistically quantifies the structure and function of food webs by evaluating biomasses and energy flows. The efficiency with which energy and material is transferred, assimilated, and dissipated conveys significant information about the structure and function of food webs (Ulanowicz 2004; Ulanowicz and Platt 1985; Baird and Ulanowicz 1989 and
... 1993; Baird et al. 1991; Ulanowicz and Wulff 1991). Network analysis has been used to compare ecosystems of different size, geographical location, hydrological characteristics, and trophic status (Baird et al. 1991; Ulanowicz and Wulff 1991; Baird and Ulanowicz 1993; Monaco and Ulanowicz 1997). Most recently, arguments have been advanced for the use of network analysis to quantify the health and integrity of ecosystems (Ulanowicz 2000) and to evaluate the magnitude of stress imposed on an ecosystem (Ulanowicz 1995; Mageau et al. 1998).
There are fundamentally four types of analyses in network analysis: (1) input/output analysis, (2) the determination of trophic status and the identification of an equivalent linear food chain, (3) elaboration and analysis of biogeochemical cycling and the supporting flows, and (4) calculation of ecosystem indices (or properties) derived from information theory that describe the state of the food web.
[Summary provided by NOAA.] 
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