Connectivity via resource flows interacts with ecosystem size and disturbance to affect meta‐ecosystem structure

Abstract Ecosystem structure is driven by connectivity via resource flows, ecosystem (patch) size, and disturbance regimes. However, while resource flows can interact with ecosystem size to affect ecosystem structure, we lack evidence on whether and how these two variables further interact with disturbance. Here, we empirically test how ecosystem size and disturbance jointly mediate the effects of connectivity via resource flows. We conducted a highly replicated microcosm experiment with two‐patch autotrophic‐heterotrophic meta‐ecosystems, manipulating resource flows (connected/unconnected), patch size (6.43, 9, 15, 45 mL), and disturbance (fixed magnitude or relative to patch size) to study their effects on biomass density across patches as a meta‐ecosystem structure. Our results showed an interaction between resource flows, patch size, and disturbance. When disturbance was fixed, resource flows increased meta‐ecosystem biomass density from intermediate‐small sizes upward (≥9 mL). In contrast, when disturbance was relative to ecosystem size, the positive effects of resource flows only occurred from intermediate‐large sizes upward (≥15 mL). Our results suggest that to understand the interactive effects of ecosystem size and resource flows on ecosystem structure, we might have to consider how disturbance covaries with ecosystem size.