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8 - Habitat loss

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2009

Esa Ranta
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki
Per Lundberg
Affiliation:
Lunds Universitet, Sweden
Veijo Kaitala
Affiliation:
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
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Summary

Our focus is on population fluctuations, extinction risks, and on species coexistence in a fragmented landscape. As this is an entirely theoretical enterprise, we can control for various aspects (constant carrying capacity, fixed density of fragments per unit area, increasing isolation, etc.) while altering others. This is often impossible to achieve with natural systems. The concept of refugee-arrival (former inhabitants of habitats lost) caused perturbations in local populations will be introduced. In addition, we shall explore population fluctuations in the center and border of a species' distribution range. Finally, we shall provide a few explanations as to why species with periodic multi-annual dynamics may lose the cycle.

What is meant by habitat loss?

The issue of habitat loss brings into mind various aspects of changes over time in pristine habitats in nature. Often we tend to associate habitat loss with human-caused consequences: intensifying agriculture initially, timber logging for sawmills and pulp mills of the paper industry, not forgetting urban development (fig. 8.1). The picture that we tend to have in mind when somebody mentions “habitat loss” is that in the beginning there was large widespread homogeneous coverage of uniform habitat areas all over a given biome. Ever since those times everything has deteriorated, fragmented, and we have lost habitats. Areas suitable for breeding of a given species have become isolated from each other. Many species have become extinct and numerous others have become threatened. This has all happened in a very short historical time.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

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  • Habitat loss
  • Esa Ranta, University of Helsinki, Per Lundberg, Lunds Universitet, Sweden, Veijo Kaitala, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
  • Book: Ecology of Populations
  • Online publication: 02 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511610752.009
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  • Habitat loss
  • Esa Ranta, University of Helsinki, Per Lundberg, Lunds Universitet, Sweden, Veijo Kaitala, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
  • Book: Ecology of Populations
  • Online publication: 02 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511610752.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Habitat loss
  • Esa Ranta, University of Helsinki, Per Lundberg, Lunds Universitet, Sweden, Veijo Kaitala, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
  • Book: Ecology of Populations
  • Online publication: 02 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511610752.009
Available formats
×