"The interactive effects of habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, restoration and dispersal capacity on community connectivity"de Jager, MoniqueDue to ongoing habitat loss and fragmentation, dispersal between subcommunities becomes more difficult, which results in impaired gene flow, decreased colonization by new species, reduced population sizes and, consequently, increasing genetic and ecological drift. The success of restoration measures depends on the interplay between species’ dispersal capacity and the spatial distribution of existing subcommunities and newly restored areas. Understanding of how the interactions between habitat restoration strategies and dispersal capacity impact community connectivity is vital knowledge for the development of a general theoretical framework and, ultimately, to design successful restoration projects. Here, we use spatially semi-explicit individual-based model simulations to investigate how habitat loss, fragmentation, and restoration, together with species’ dispersal capacity, affect community connectivity. |
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