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A large-scale deforestation experiment: Effects of patch area and isolation on Amazon birds

January 1, 2007

As compared with extensive contiguous areas, small isolated habitat patches lack many species. Some species disappear after isolation; others are rarely found in any small patch, regardless of isolation. We used a 13-year data set of bird captures from a large landscape-manipulation experiment in a Brazilian Amazon forest to model the extinction-colonization dynamics of 55 species and tested basic predictions of island biogeography and metapopulation theory. From our models, we derived two metrics of species vulnerability to changes in isolation and patch area. We found a strong effect of area and a variable effect of isolation on the predicted patch occupancy by birds.

Publication Year 2007
Title A large-scale deforestation experiment: Effects of patch area and isolation on Amazon birds
DOI 10.1126/science.1133097
Authors G. Ferraz, J. D. Nichols, J. E. Hines, P.C. Stouffer, R.O. Bierregaard, T.E. Lovejoy
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Science
Index ID 5224733
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Patuxent Wildlife Research Center