BIOL 1070 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Habitat Fragmentation, Fauna, Rhamnus Cathartica

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIOL 1070
• Professor: Shoshanah Jacobs

Document Summary

The forest fragments" assignment is an individual assignment, completed and submitted individually to the dropbox. Provide your answers below, and submit the file to the online dropbox. 1. 1 read the provided paper from the primary literature that discusses the effect of habitat edges (edge effects), or forest fragmentation on the ecology or diversity of a species. Briefly summarize the paper, paraphrasing each of the components listed in the assignment questions. (6 marks) The primary topic of research that motivated this study was the impact fragmentation of forest ecosystems had on the microclimates and ecosystem functions of the forest edge. Due to these edge effects, environmental factors of moisture and temperature fluctuate which control leaf litter decomposition. Other influences of decomposers or soil macrofauna indirectly play an important role in the decomposition process of leaf litter. These species, being sensitive to altered ecosystem conditions, differ in edge versus interior forest ecosystems.