Refuge Design and Island Biogeographic Theory: Effects of Fragmentation

Abstract

Cole's theoretical conclusion that one large site generally contains more species than several small ones of equal total area is falsified by data in the literature, as is his contention that exceptions will only occur when the species in the sites are but a small fraction of those in the species pool. For a variety of taxa, for a number of different habitat types, and for a wide range of sizes of the biota as a fraction of the pool, either there is no clear best strategy, or several small sites are better than one large site. Since there are numerous idiosyncratic biological considerations, plus a number of nonbiological ones that bear heavily on refuge design, it is unlikely that a general reductionist model can generate useful predictions or advice on this matter.