Ecological systems are vulnerable to irreversible change when key system properties are pushed over thresholds, resulting in the loss of resilience and the precipitation of a regime shift. Perhaps the most important of such properties in human-modified landscapes is the total amount of remnant native vegetation. In a seminal study Andrén proposed the existence of a fragmentation threshold in th...

1. Patch area and proximity of patch edge can influence ecological processes across patchy landscapes and may interact with each other. Different patch sizes have different amounts of core habitat, potentially affecting animal abundances at the edge and middle of patches. In this study, we tested if edge effects varied with patch size. 2. Fish were sampled in 10 various-sized seagrass patches (...

Preservation of ecosystems requires an understanding of the ecosystem processes that regulate ecosystem resources. Patches and inter-patch features are parts of the ecosystem that are partially responsible for effects on transporting and storing materials in the ecosystem. The structural features of ecological patches including size, number and the average inter-patch length are important becau...

For an optimum use of natural resources in the sustainable development trend, there is a need to identify ecological resources in the shortest period of time and minimum possible cost. In this article, we aimed Management ecosystem by Assessment of plant covers changes at Taleghan Township in a twenty year period. Percentage of landscape and number of patch were among the metrics that were calc...

For an optimum use of natural resources in the sustainable development trend, there is a need to identify ecological resources in the shortest period of time and minimum possible cost. In this article, we aimed Management ecosystem by Assessment of plant covers changes at Taleghan Township in a twenty year period. Percentage of landscape and number of patch were among the metrics that were calc...

Perturbation analysis is a powerful tool to study population and community dynamics. This article describes expressions for sensitivity metrics reflecting changes in equilibrium occupancy resulting from small changes in the vital rates of patch occupancy dynamics (i.e., probabilities of local patch colonization and extinction). We illustrate our approach with a case study of occupancy dynamics ...

The ecological principle of competitive exclusion states that species competing for identical resources cannot coexist, but this principle is paradoxical because ecologically similar competitors are regularly observed. Coexistence is possible under some conditions if a fluctuating environment changes the competitive dominance of species. This change in competitive dominance implies the existenc...

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...

For an optimum use of natural resources in the sustainable development trend, there is a need to identify ecological resources in the shortest period of time and minimum possible cost. In this article, we aimed Management ecosystem by Assessment of plant covers changes at Taleghan Township in a twenty year period. Percentage of landscape and number of patch were among the metrics that were calc...