Habitat fragmentation causes immediate and time-delayed biodiversity loss at different trophic levels.
Ecol Lett
; 13(5): 597-605, 2010 May.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20337698
ABSTRACT
Intensification or abandonment of agricultural land use has led to a severe decline of semi-natural habitats across Europe. This can cause immediate loss of species but also time-delayed extinctions, known as the extinction debt. In a pan-European study of 147 fragmented grassland remnants, we found differences in the extinction debt of species from different trophic levels. Present-day species richness of long-lived vascular plant specialists was better explained by past than current landscape patterns, indicating an extinction debt. In contrast, short-lived butterfly specialists showed no evidence for an extinction debt at a time scale of c. 40 years. Our results indicate that management strategies maintaining the status quo of fragmented habitats are insufficient, as time-delayed extinctions and associated co-extinctions will lead to further biodiversity loss in the future.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Plantas
/
Borboletas
/
Ecossistema
/
Biodiversidade
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2010
Tipo de documento:
Article