Support for the habitat amount hypothesis from a global synthesis of species density studies

Watling, James I.; Arroyo-Rodríguez, Victor; Pfeifer, Marion; Baeten, Lander; Banks-Leite, Cristina; Cisneros, Laura M.; Fang, Rebecca; Hamel-Leigue, A. Caroli; Lachat, Thibault; Leal, Inara R.; Lens, Luc; Possingham, Hugh P.; Raheem, Dinarzarde C.; Ribeiro, Danilo B.; Slade, Eleanor M.; Urbina-Cardona, J. Nicolas; Wood, Eric M.; Fahrig, Lenore (2020). Support for the habitat amount hypothesis from a global synthesis of species density studies Ecology Letters, 23(4), pp. 674-681. Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/ele.13471

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Decades of research suggest that species richness depends on spatial characteristics of habitat patches, especially their size and isolation. In contrast, the habitat amount hypothesis predicts that (1) species richness in plots of fixed size (species density) is more strongly and positively related to the amount of habitat around the plot than to patch size or isolation; (2) habitat amount better predicts species density than patch size and isolation combined, (3) there is no effect of habitat fragmentation per se on species density and (4) patch size and isolation effects do not become stronger with declining habitat amount. Data on eight taxonomic groups from 35 studies around the world support these predictions. Conserving species density requires minimising habitat loss, irrespective of the configuration of the patches in which that habitat is contained.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Multifunctional Forest Management School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Multifunctional Forest Management > Forest Ecosystem and Management
Name:	Watling, James I.; Arroyo-Rodríguez, Victor; Pfeifer, Marion; Baeten, Lander; Banks-Leite, Cristina; Cisneros, Laura M.; Fang, Rebecca; Hamel-Leigue, A. Caroli; Lachat, Thibault0000-0003-3952-7443; Leal, Inara R.; Lens, Luc; Possingham, Hugh P.; Raheem, Dinarzarde C.; Ribeiro, Danilo B.; Slade, Eleanor M.; Urbina-Cardona, J. Nicolas; Wood, Eric M. and Fahrig, Lenore
Subjects:	Q Science > QH Natural history Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology Q Science > QK Botany Q Science > QL Zoology
ISSN:	1461-023X
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
Language:	English
Submitter:	Thibault Lachat
Date Deposited:	03 Nov 2020 14:36
Last Modified:	12 Feb 2024 16:31
Publisher DOI:	10.1111/ele.13471
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Forest loss, habitat amount, patch size, sampling effect
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.13187
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/13187