Ecological theory predicts that habitat growth and loss will have different effects on community structure, even if they produce patches of the same size. Despite this, studies on the effects of patchiness are often performed without prior knowledge of the processes responsible for the patchiness. We manipulated artificial seagrass habitat in temperate Australia to test whether fish and crustac...

In a large-scale experiment, we found that three habitat-restricted butterfly species reached higher densities in patches connected by corridors than in similar, isolated patches. We conducted our study in 27 equal-sized (1.64-ha) patches that varied in whether or not they were connected to another patch by a corridor. Patches and corridors were open, early-successional habitat that contrasted ...

We quantified the use of habitat patches by brown trout, Salmo trutta, during summer conditions in a plains stream in the western United States. A Global Positioning System was used to map discrete habitat patches (2–420 m) consisting of macrophytes, wood accumulation, or deep water. Habitat use by brown trout was monitored by radio telemetry. Brown trout used habitat in a nonrandom manner with...

Conservation efforts typically focus on maximizing biodiversity in protected areas. The space available for reserves is limited, however, and conservation efforts must increasingly consider how management of protected areas can promote biodiversity beyond reserve borders. Habitat corridors are considered an important feature of reserves because they facilitate movement of organisms between patc...

The loss of shrubland habitat is linked to population declines formanywildlife species, including several bird species of conservation concern. Conservation agencies in the northeastern United States encourage private landowners to clearcut patches of forest to create shrubland habitat. Many private landowners are only willing to create small clearcuts; therefore, it is important to understand ...

Fragmentation and reduced continuity of habitat patches threaten the environment and biodiversity. Recently, ecological networks are increasingly attracting the attention of researchers as they provide fundamental frameworks for environmental protection. This study suggests a set of procedures to construct an ecological network. First, we proposed a method to construct a landscape resistance su...

I challenge (1) the assumption that habitat patches are natural units of measurement for species richness, and (2) the assumption of distinct effects of habitat patch size and isolation on species richness. I propose a simpler view of the relationship between habitat distribution and species richness, the ‘habitat amount hypothesis’, and I suggest ways of testing it. The habitat amount hypothes...

Alteration in the river flow regime due to intermittent hydropower production (i.e., hydropeaking) leads biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation worldwide. Due increasing shear of volatile green energy wind solar), hydropeaking frequency is deemed increase coming decades. However, our mechanistic understanding how repeated series multiple events) affects ecological processes still limited. ...

Most studies dealing with species distribution patterns on fragmented landscapes focus on the characteristics of habitat patches that influence local occurrence and abundance, but they tend to neglect the question of what drives colonization of previously unoccupied patches. In a study of the dryad butterfly, we combined classical approaches derived from metapopulation theory and landscape ecol...