Lynette Loke1, Hannah Yeo2,3
1The University of Melbourne, Australia - 2University of Southern Denmark, Denmark - 3National University of Singapore, Singapore
The mechanisms underlying species-area relationships in fragmented habitats remain poorly understood, despite their significance for biodiversity conservation. In a previous experiment disentangling the effects of habitat area and spatial configuration, we observed a unimodal effect of fragmentation on diversity, with diversity peaking at intermediate levels of fragmentation. This peak was hypothesised to result from dispersal limitation acting more strongly in these intermediate scenarios. To investigate this, we conducted two complementary studies in the same experimental intertidal landscapes. First, we utilised an unmanned aerial vehicle to collect spatially referenced counts of three nerite snail species and analyse spatial aggregation patterns across area and configuration treatments. Secondly, we used mark-recapture techniques to collect movement data on gastropods in landscapes with varying spatial configurations, aiming to test for dispersal limitation across the fragmentation gradient. Our findings reveal how spatial configuration influenced snail aggregation patterns independently of area effects and demonstrate species-specific responses to fragmentation. Mark-recapture data further highlighted the critical role of dispersal abilities in mediating connectivity across the landscape. This study provides empirical evidence that structurally connected habitat patches can remain functionally disconnected, with connectivity governed by species traits and the spatial scale of analysis. These results offer new insights into the interplay between spatial configuration and biodiversity in fragmented ecosystems and emphasise the importance of considering functional connectivity in conservation planning.
Biography
Dr Lynette Loke is a lecturer at the University of Melbourne and a community ecologist specialising in coastal marine ecosystems. Her research focuses on understanding biodiversity across spatial and temporal scales, with a particular emphasis on intertidal systems. Dr Loke aims to bridge theoretical, empirical, and applied ecology, integrating community ecology with practical conservation efforts to address real-world environmental challenges.