Wildlif Wildlife: A Case Study

Ovaskainen, 2000), establishment (Bowman, Cappuccino & Fahrig, 2002), habitat selection (Fletcher & Hutto, 2008), animal predation of pollinators (Batary & Baldi, 2004), resource quality (Burke & Nol, 1998), and interspecific competition. Edge effects in plant and animal communities are common but may be positive (Chen et al., 1992) or negative (Bruna 2002) and affect distributions, abundance (Bolger et al., 2000), growth (McDonald and Urban, 2004), and reproduction (Burgess et al., 2006). Edge effects have been found to occur as a function of local micro-climatic influences (Murcia 1995) and elevated animal predation (Cantrell et al. 2001). A third component of landscape configuration, connectivity has been found to affect rates of animal movement and therefore rates of dispersal and patch colonization (Haddad, 2000).
5.2.3 Flow of Genetic Material throughout Landscape …show more content…
This movement allows for interbreeding, creating genetically stronger populations and ensuring that suitable habitats can be filled. In a fragmented forest landscape, large distances between woodlots may prevent this movement and are an impediment for migrating wildlife. For this reason, corridors between isolated patches can help wildlife by providing routes through which they can travel. Corridors also benefit plants, making seed dispersal and establishment into new areas easier. While even narrow hedgerows can help create linkages between fragments, corridors of 100 to 200metres wide or greater are considered more effective (Adams and Mattew