An extended patch-dynamic framework for food chains in fragmented landscapes.

ABSTRACT: Habitat destruction, a key determinant of species loss, can be characterized by two components, patch loss and patch fragmentation, where the former refers to the reduction in patch availability, and the latter to the division of the remaining patches. Classical metacommunity models have recently explored how food web dynamics respond to patch loss, but the effects of patch fragmentation have largely been overlooked. Here we develop an extended patch-dynamic model that tracks the patch occupancy of the various trophic links subject to colonization-extinction-predation dynamics by incorporating species dispersal with patch connectivity. We found that, in a simple food chain, species at higher trophic level become extinct sooner with increasing patch loss and fragmentation due to the constra

SUBMITTER: Liao J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5016810 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature