Habitat Fragmentation Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to habitat fragmentation, its effects on ecology, and the dynamics of populations within fragmented habitats.

Habitat Fragmentation

The disruption and division of habitat into smaller, isolated patches.

Metapopulation

A system of populations that are spatially separated but connected through occasional dispersal.

Edge Effects

Changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two habitats.

Insularization

The phenomenon where habitats become isolated, leading to loss of species and connectivity.

Landscape Matrix

The matrix is the surrounding environment that affects the dynamics and interactions of habitat fragments.

Extinction Debt

The delayed loss of species following habitat fragmentation, often resulting from prior habitat degradation.

Crowding Effect

An increase in individual populations within remaining habitat fragments, leading to resource competition.

Barrier Effects

Obstacles that impede movement and gene flow among wildlife populations, often created by human activity.

Natural Disturbances

Events such as fires or hurricanes that introduce additional complexity and variability to landscapes.

Nested Subsets

A pattern where larger patches of habitat contain all species found in smaller patches but also additional species.

Habitat Shredding

A process where larger habitats are broken into smaller, disconnected patches.

Heterogeneity

The diversity and variety of elements within an ecosystem that can increase overall biodiversity.

Source-Sink Dynamics

A model to describe how populations in ecological 'source' patches contribute to those in 'sink' patches.

Fragmentation Metrics

Measures used to quantify habitat fragmentation based on patch size, shape, and isolation.

Vulnerability to Fragmentation

The susceptibility of a species to decline or extinction as a result of habitat fragmentation.

Spatial Pattern of Patches

Describes how the size, shape, and arrangement of habitat fragments influence ecological interactions.