HABITAT LOSS AND FRAGMENTATION ARE THE principal drivers of biodiversity loss, notably in the tropics (7). One of the most immediate results of fragmentation is the loss of top predators. As early as 12 years ago, evidence was provided for top-down effects of predator removal in tropical forest mammalian communities (2). Now, in their report "Ecological meltdown in predator-free forest fragment...

The problems of the environmental management in river basins are treated as periphery problems. Though, these areas are often included in great reserves of natural resources of the nation, their contribution to the main land is quite often in terms of forest, water, wildlife, tourism and leisure industries. Forest and forest eco-systems of north-east India in general and Manipur in particular, ...

Title of dissertation: MATRIX EFFECTS ON INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY-LEVEL RESPONSES OF BIRDS TO FOREST FRAGMENTATION IN JAMAICA Christina Marie Kennedy, Ph.D., 2009 Directed by: Associate Professor Maile C. Neel, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture & Department of Entomology Professor William F. Fagan, Department of Biology Land cover between habitat patches (“matrix”) can impa...

Despite vast evidence of species turnover displayed by Neotropical bat communities in response to forest fragmentation, the exact shape of the relationship between fragment area and abundance for individual bat species is still unclear. Bats’ ample variation in diet, morphology, and movement behaviour can potentially influence species’ perception of the landscape. Thus, studies describing fragm...

Forest fragmentation affects the heterogeneity of accumulated fuels by increasing the diversity of forest types and by increasing forest edges. This heterogeneity has implications in how we manage fuels, fire, and forests. Understanding the relative importance of fragmentation on woody biomass within a single climatic regime, and along climatic gradients, will improve our ability to manage fore...

As tropical reserves become smaller and more isolated, the ability of species to utilize fragmented landscapes will be a key determinant of species survival. Although several ecological and life history traits commonly are associated with vulnerability to fragmentation, the combination of traits that are most highly influential and the effectiveness of those traits in predicting vulnerability a...

We developed and tested patch occupancy models for an endemic understory bird with limited dispersal ability, the Chucao Tapaculo (Scelorchilus rubecula), in two South American temperate rain forest landscapes that differed in levels and duration of forest loss. We assessed cover changes since 1961 in each landscape and surveyed patches for Chucao Tapaculo occupancy. We then developed incidence...

Fragmentation changes the spatial patterns of landscapes in ways that can alter the flow of materials and species; however, our understanding of the consequences of this fragmentation and flow alteration for ecosystem processes and ecosystem services remains limited. As an ecological process that affects many ecosystem services and is sensitive to fragmentation, insect herbivory is a good model...

Little is known about the demographic consequences of fragmentation for plant populations. By assessing the population structure of a common herb ( Heliconia acuminata ) in an experimentally fragmented landscape in the central Amazon, we tested the predictions that fragmentation could reduce population density, alter population structure, and reduce reproductive effort. Population density in co...