DeVito et al. 2023. Smaller fragments, smaller species: varying fragment sizes result in different community structure
By Olivia DeVito, Jaclyn Feehan, Maura Vander Putten, and Julia Marsala
Abstract
Human activity has impacted global environmental health in a multitude of ways. Particularly, as the human population expands and urbanization increases, there has been a loss of biodiversity resulting from increasing levels of ecosystem fragmentation. To understand how forest fragmentation is impacting ecosystem biodiversity on a local level, we deployed trail cameras within Purchase College State University of New York (SUNY) to research how diversity varies among different sized forest fragments. The research was conducted based on a size-gradient across four forest fragments. We found that there is no clear trend between Shannon-diversity and fragment size, with all sites having moderately high diversity values beside our smallest fragment. There was a clear trend of larger wildlife occupying larger fragments and smaller wildlife occupying smaller fragments, suggesting that fragment size may determine which species are present. The species most frequently found among fragments include white-tailed deer, eastern cottontail, and chipmunks. Species with the lowest occurrences among fragments include bobcats, coyotes, and the American Robin. Our results demonstrate the importance of preserving forest fragments of various sizes to support the diverse array of wildlife that occupy them.