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 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.

[1]  I. Hanski.  Reply to Nee, Gregory and May , 1991 .

[2]  James H. Brown.  On the Relationship between Abundance and Distribution of Species , 1984, The American Naturalist.

[3]  K. Gaston.  The multiple forms of the interspecific abundance : distribution relationship , 1996 .

[4]  J. Lawton,et al.  Interspecific abundance-range size relationships: An appraisal of mechanisms , 1997 .

[5]  Ilkka Hanski,et al.  Single‐species metapopulation dynamics: concepts, models and observations , 1991 .

[6]  E. L. Seyd.  The moss mites of Yes Tor, Dartmoor, Devon (Acari: Oribatida) and their evolutionary significance , 1992 .

[7]  J. Lawton,et al.  Range, population abundance and conservation. , 1993, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[8]  S. Gangestad,et al.  Developmental stability and human violence , 1998, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[9]  J. Lawton,et al.  Population abundances, geographic ranges and conservation: 1994 Witherby Lecture , 1996 .

[10]  L. Fahrig,et al.  Connectivity is a vital element of landscape structure , 1993 .

[11]  T. Burkey.  Metapopulation Extinction in Fragmented Landscapes: Using Bacteria and Protozoa Communities as Model Ecosystems , 1997, The American Naturalist.

[12]  J. Diamond,et al.  Ecology and Evolution of Communities , 1976, Nature.

[13]  R. May,et al.  Core and satellite species: theory and artefacts , 1991 .

[14]  K. Gaston,et al.  Interspecific abundance-occupancy relationships : a test of mechanisms using microcosms , 1997 .

[15]  David H. Wright,et al.  Correlations between incidence and abundance are expected by chance , 1991 .