HABITAT FRAGMENTATION - ISLAND V LANDSCAPE PERSPECTIVES ON BIRD CONSERVATION

Fragments of habitat are often viewed as islands and are managed as su ch; however, habitat fragmentation includes a wide range of spatial pa tterns of environments that may occur on many spatial scales, Fragment s exist in a complex landscape mosaic, and dynamics within a fragment are affected by external factors that vary as the mosaic structure cha nges, The simple analogy of fragments to islands, therefore, is unsati sfactory, Understanding how birds respond to these complexities of fra gmentation requires mechanistic studies focused on habitat selection a nd movement behaviour. Conservation efforts must be based on viewing f ragmentation as a range of conditions that occurs in a landscape mosai c, and management should be directed toward the mosaics rather than fo cusing solely on reserves,