Relations between forest and prairie fragmentation and depredation of artificial nests in Missouri

"Human settlement of native ecosystems has resulted in the destruction and fragmentation of habitats until, in many cases, only isolated remnants remain. The emerging field of conservation biology often examines these fragments, attempting to illucidate patterns of diversity, the mechanisms that determine species composition, and ways of preserving the existing flora and fauna within the remaining areas. Principles derived from island biogeography offer possibilities for conserving species in fragmented habitats. MacArthur and Wilson (1967) proposed that the number of species on an island is a balance between immigration and extinction rates; this equilibrium point may be affected by island size and degree of isolation. Although this model was originally conceptualized for oceanic islands, it recently has been applied to terrestrial habitat islands to explain effects of fragmentation. Direct relationships between avian species number and habitat area have been documented for many habitat types (e.g., marshes (Brown and Dinsmore 1986), old-growth forest (Harris 1984), upland hardwood forest (Robbins 1979, Whitcomb et al. 1981, Ambuel and Temple 1983)); however, the pattern is not universal to all habitats (e.g., cypress ponds (O'Meara 1984)). Where species-area relationships seem to exist, area-dependent or area-sensitive species (species that are found only in large areas) also are documented. To preserve all the constituent species within an ecosystem, including area-sensitive species, large refuges would be needed (Wilson and Willis 1975)."--Introduction.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biological sciences (MU)

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Missouri--Columbia

Year dc:date.issued

1988

Author dc:creator

• Burger, Leslie Donaldson

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Faaborg, John

Statement dc:rights

• OpenAccess.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/104244

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/104244