ARTICLE IN PRESS The Visualisation of Ecological Networks, and Their Use as a Tool for Engagement, Advocacy and Management Michael J.O. Pocock*,1, Darren M. Evans†,{, Colin Fontaine}, Martin Harvey}, Romain Julliard}, Órla McLaughlin||, Jonathan Silvertown#, Alireza Tamaddoni-Nezhad**, Piran C.L. White††, David A. Bohan|| *Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom †School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, United Kingdom { School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom } Centre d’Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO UMR7204), Sorbonne Universite´s, MNHN, CNRS, UPMC, CP51, 55 rue Buffon, Paris, France } Department of Environment Earth and Ecosystems, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom jj UMR 1347 Agroe´cologie, AgroSup/UB/INRA, Poˆle Ecologie des Communaute´s et Durabilite´ des Syste`mes Agricoles, Dijon Cedex, France #Ashworth Laboratories, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom **Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom ††Environment Department, University of York, York, United Kingdom 1Corresponding author: e-mail address:
[email protected] Contents 1. Introduction 42 2. Benefits of a Network Approach in Ecology 45 2.1 How Network Approaches Are Used in Ecology 45 2.2 The Importance of Interactions 46 2.3 The Value of Network Visualisation for Researchers 47 3. Visualisation of Ecological Networks: The Balance of Scientific Integrity, Beauty and Intelligibility 48 3.1 Principles of Data Visualisation 48 3.2 Applying Visualisation Principles to Networks 51 3.3 Approaches for Visualising Networks 52 3.4 Tools for Drawing Networks 57 3.5 Interactivity and Animation 59 3.6 Recommendations for Network Visualisation 60 4.