Metapopulation Biology: Ecology, Genetics and Evolution - Tapa dura

Habitat destruction has left many landscapes increasingly fragmented. Populations of plants and animals living in such fractured landscapes can be isolated from nearby populations. These small isolated populations are called metapopulations because occasional interchanges between isolates occurs. Metapopulation biology explains how the dynamics, long-term survival and evolution of species are affected by habitat fragmentation. The biology of metapopulation has become a key issue in conservation. This volume presents a review of this area of study in population biology. It describes key theories of study and applies the best field studies to the conservation of species in fragmented landscapes. The work explains and critically assesses the value of the metapopulation concept for field studies and conservation.