Extinction filters mediate the global effects of habitat fragmentation on animals
Betts, Matthew G.
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Forest Biodiversity Research Network, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
Wolf, Christopher
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Forest Biodiversity Research Network, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
Pfeifer, Marion
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School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor
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Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Campus Morelia, Antigua Carretera Patzcuaro no. 8701, Ex-Hacienda de San José de la Huerta, 58190 Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico.
Ribeiro, Danilo Bandini
ORCID
Instituo de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Caixa Postal 549, 79070-900 Campo Grande, Brazil.
Barlow, JosSetor Ecologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brazil.
Eigenbrod, Felix
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Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
Faria, Deborah
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Applied Conservation Ecology Lab, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, da Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Ilhéus-Itabuna, km 16, Salobrinho, 45662-000 Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil.
Fletcher, Robert J.
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Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Hadley, Adam S.Forest Biodiversity Research Network, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
Hawes, Joseph E.
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Applied Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK.
Holt, Robert D.
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Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Klingbeil, Brian
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School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
Kormann, Urs
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Division of Forest Sciences, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Zollikofen, Switzerland.
Lens, Luc
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Ghent University, Department of Biology, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
Levi, TaalForest Biodiversity Research Network, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
Medina-Rangel, Guido F.
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Groupo de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Reptiles, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Ciudad Universitaria, Edificio 425, Bogotá, Distrito Capital, Colombia.
Melles, Stephanie L.
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Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada.
Mezger, Dirk
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Department of Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, USA.
Morante-Filho, José Carlos
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Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Avenida Transnordestina, s/n - Novo Horizonte, 44036-900 Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil.
Orme, C. David L.
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Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK.
Peres, Carlos A.
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Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.
Phalan, Benjamin T.
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Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, 40170-115 Bahia, Brazil.
Pidgeon, Anna
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Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Ripple, William J.
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Forest Biodiversity Research Network, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
Slade, Eleanor M.
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Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Dr., 637459 Singapore.
Somarriba, Eduardo
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Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Turrialba, Costa Rica.
Tobias, Joseph A.
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Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK.
Tylianakis, Jason M.
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School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.
Urbina-Cardona, J. Nicolás
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Department of Ecology and Territory, School of Rural and Environmental Studies, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia.
Valente, Jonathon J.
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Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Migratory Bird Center, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20013, USA.
Watling, James I.
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Department of Biology, John Carroll University, University Heights, OH 44118, USA.
Wells, Konstans
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Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK.
Wearn, Oliver R.
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Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
Wood, Eric
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Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
Young, RichardDurrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Les Augres Manor, Trinity, Jersey JE3 5BP, UK.
Ewers, Robert M.
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Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK.
EnglishHabitat loss is the primary driver of biodiversity decline worldwide, but the effects of fragmentation (the spatial arrangement of remaining habitat) are debated. We tested the hypothesis that forest fragmentation sensitivity—affected by avoidance of habitat edges—should be driven by historical exposure to, and therefore species’ evolutionary responses to disturbance. Using a database containing 73 datasets collected worldwide (encompassing 4489 animal species), we found that the proportion of fragmentation-sensitive species was nearly three times as high in regions with low rates of historical disturbance compared with regions with high rates of disturbance (i.e., fires, glaciation, hurricanes, and deforestation). These disturbances coincide with a latitudinal gradient in which sensitivity increases sixfold at low versus high latitudes. We conclude that conservation efforts to limit edges created by fragmentation will be most important in the world’s tropical forests.