Highlight from E.O. Wilsons Life on Earth Human population growth is consuming habitat other creatures depend on. As we try to manage our future and make wise decisions about how to conserve existing habitats, it’s important to realize that the key to sustainable biodiversity is not just how much habitat we protect, but how much *unfragmented* habitat we protect. Four small habitats cannot be as diverse as one habitat four times the size. We see this clearly in a species inventory of the West Indies, shown below (from E.O. Wilsons Life on Earth”). What happens when habitats get chopped up? Sparse resources become too sparse. Competition becomes too fierce. Species disappear. The corridor concept of land conservation strives to respect this aspect of biodiversity by linking conserved land areas to create larger, continuous preserves. Politics and previous development can enforce some strongly shaped corridor preserves. But the shape of the corridor is less important than the unfragmented size. The proof? Cuba and Hispaniola, shaped like gerrymandered congressional districts, each have twice the number of species of reptiles and amphibians compared to compact Jamaica, one tenth the size of the larger islands. Post courtesy of Morgan Ryan, Project Director of E.O. Wilsons Life on Earth Learn more about E.O. Wilsons Life on Earth on our website at: eowilsonfoundation.org/e-o-wilson-s-life-on-earth
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 19:01:11 +0000
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