How Landscapes Change: Human Disturbance and Ecosystem Fragmentation in the Americas

✍ Scribed by G. A. Bradshaw, P. A. Marquet (auth.), Dr. Gay A. Bradshaw, Dr. Pablo A. Marquet (eds.)

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 372
• Series: Ecological Studies 162
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

North and South America share similar human and ecological histories and, increasingly, economic and social linkages. As such, issues of ecosystem functions and disruptions form a common thread among these cultures. This volume synthesizes the perspectives of several disciplines, such as ecology, anthropology, economy, and conservation biology. The chief goal is to gain an understanding of how human and ecological processes interact to affect ecosystem functions and species in the Americas. Throughout the text the emphasis is placed on habitat fragmentation. At the same time, the book provides an overview of current theory, methods, and approaches used in the analysis of ecosystem disruptions and fragmentation.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages I-XXI
Introduction....Pages 1-4
Front Matter....Pages 5-5
Biodiversity and Human Impact During the Last 11,000 Years in North-Central Chile....Pages 7-17
Beyond Malthus and Perverse Incentives: Economic Globalization, Forest Conversion and Habitat Fragmentation....Pages 19-32
Forest Fragmentation and Biodiversity in Central Amazonia....Pages 33-48
Climatic and Human Influences on Fire Regimes in Temperate Forest Ecosystems in North and South America....Pages 49-87
Natural Versus Anthropogenic Sources of Amazonian Biodiversity: the Continuing Quest for El Dorado....Pages 89-107
Front Matter....Pages 109-109
Bees Not to Be? Responses of Insect Pollinator Faunas and Flower Pollination to Habitat Fragmentation....Pages 111-129
Implications of Evolutionary and Ecological Dynamics to the Genetic Analysis of Fragmentation....Pages 131-144
Forest Fragmentation, Plant Regeneration and Invasion Processes Across Edges in Central Chile....Pages 145-160
The Ecological Consequences of a Fragmentation-Mediated Invasion: The Argentine Ant, Linepithema humile , in Southern California....Pages 161-180
Front Matter....Pages 181-181
A Review and Synthesis of Conceptual Frameworks for the Study of Forest Fragmentation....Pages 183-200
Reflections on Landscape Experiments and Ecological Theory: Tools for the Study of Habitat Fragmentation....Pages 201-223
Spatial Autocorrelation, Dispersal and the Maintenance of Source-Sink Populations....Pages 225-238
Patch Dynamics, Habitat Degradation, and Space in Metapopulations....Pages 239-254
How Much Functional Redundancy Is Out There, or, Are We Willing to Do Away with Potential Backup Species?....Pages 255-262
Predicting Distributions of South American Migrant Birds in Fragmented Environments: a Possible Approach Based on Climate....Pages 263-283
Habitat Heterogeneity on a Forest-Savanna Ecotone in Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (Santa Cruz, Bolivia): Implications for the Long-Term Conservation of Biodiversity in a Changing Climate....Pages 285-312
Bandages for Wounded Landscapes: Faunal Corridors and Their Role in Wildlife Conservation in the Americas....Pages 313-325
Management of the Semi-Natural Matrix....Pages 327-343
Human Disturbance and Ecosystem Fragmentation in the Americas....Pages 345-353
Back Matter....Pages 355-363

✦ Subjects

Landscape Ecology; Applied Ecology; Biodiversity; Ecosystems; Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning; Nature Conservation