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Support for the habitat amount hypothesis from a global synthesis of species density studies
Author(s) -
Watling James I.,
ArroyoRodríguez Victor,
Pfeifer Marion,
Baeten Lander,
BanksLeite Cristina,
Cisneros Laura M.,
Fang Rebecca,
HamelLeigue A. Caroli,
Lachat Thibault,
Leal Inara R.,
Lens Luc,
Possingham Hugh P.,
Raheem Dinarzarde C.,
Ribeiro Danilo B.,
Slade Eleanor M.,
UrbinaCardona J. Nicolas,
Wood Eric M.,
Fahrig Lenore
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.13471
Subject(s) - habitat , species richness , ecology , habitat fragmentation , fragmentation (computing) , biology , habitat destruction
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.