Island biogeography at the mesoscale: Distance from forest edge affects choice of patch size by ovipositing treefrogs.

ABSTRACT: Diversity in habitat patches is partly driven by variation in patch size, which affects extinction, and isolation, which affects immigration. Patch size also affects immigration as a component of patch quality. In wetland ecosystems, where variation in patch size and interpatch distance is ubiquitous, relationships between size and isolation may involve trade-offs. We assayed treefrog oviposition at three patch sizes in arrays of two types, one where size increased with distance from forest (dispersed) and one with all patches equidistant from forest (equidistant), testing directly for an interaction between patch size and distance, which was highly significant. Medium patches in dispersed arrays received more eggs than those in equidistant arrays as use of typically preferred larger patch

SUBMITTER: Resetarits WJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9540006 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature