Population structure plays a key role in community stability

The relationship between ecosystem complexity and stability remains unresolved and a mechanistic explanation for the stunning levels of biodiversity observed in communities and ecosystems is still lacking. Recent work has shown that differences in the foraging capacity and predation risk of juveniles versus adults within populations result in larger, more complex communities than predicted by unstructured models. Here, we develop a general framework to integrate population structure into community stability analyses and show that stage-asymmetric interactions are key to stability. Specifically, while cross-stage predator-prey interactions enhance stability, competition across different stages destabilises the community. Our results offer new insights into the stability-diversity paradox, emphasising the critical role of population structure in ecological resilience, an often neglected feature of natural systems.