Metapopulation Dynamics, Abundance, and Distribution in a Microecosystem

The experimental fragmentation of landscapes of a natural ecosystem resulted in declines in the abundance and distribution of most species in the multispecies animal community inhabiting the landscapes and the extinction of many species. These declines caused the deterioration of the positive inters...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1998-09, Vol.281 (5385), p.2045-2047
Main Authors: Gonzalez, A., Lawton, J. H., Gilbert, F. S., Blackburn, T. M., Evans-Freke, I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Community Relations
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Ecosystems
Environmental degradation: ecosystems survey and restoration
Extinct species
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Habitat corridors
Habitat fragmentation
Immigration
Landscapes
Metapopulation ecology
Persistence
Population density
Species
Species extinction
T tests
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Summary:The experimental fragmentation of landscapes of a natural ecosystem resulted in declines in the abundance and distribution of most species in the multispecies animal community inhabiting the landscapes and the extinction of many species. These declines caused the deterioration of the positive interspecific relation between local population abundance and distributional extent in this community. However, when patches were connected by habitat corridors, an immigration "rescue effect" arrested declines in both abundance and distribution and maintained the observed positive relation between them. These results demonstrate the importance of metapopulation dynamics and landscape connectivity for the persistence of populations in fragmented landscapes.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.281.5385.2045