METAPOPULATION DYNAMICS, ABUNDANCE, AND DISTRIBUTION IN A MICROECOSYSTEM

The experimental fragmentation of landscapes of a natural ecosystem re sulted in declines in the abundance and distribution of most species i n the multispecies animal community inhabiting the landscapes and the extinction of many species. These declines caused the deterioration of the positive interspecific relation between local population abundanc e and distributional extent in this community. However, when patches w ere connected by habitat corridors, an immigration ''rescue effect'' a rrested declines in both abundance and distribution and maintained the observed positive relation between them. These results demonstrate th e importance of metapopulation dynamics and landscape connectivity for the persistence of populations in fragmented landscapes.