Simulation of the scale-dependent effects of landscape boundaries on species persistence and dispersal.

摘要

The relationships between life history characteristics and broad-scale patterns of species abundance were investigated with a model that simulates the dispersal of populations through heterogeneous landscapes. Movement was simulated on randomly generated landscapes and on forested landscapes digitized from aerial photographs. Simulation results indicated that population abundances will change suddenly near the critical threshold in habitat connectivity as predicted from percolation theory. The existence of critical thresholds is important for many management and conservation issues, but these thresholds suggest that data are required at spatial scales that are specific to the dispersal characteristics of the simulated population. 37 refs., 9 figs.