Ecosystem fragmentation

Biodiversity impacts of ecosystem fragmentation include disruption of migration and foraging routes, reduce genetic exchange, isolation of ecological communities and exposure to edge effects, weed invasions, etc. As with conservation of endangered species, focus has been on the effects of small size on population persistence, and must address the causes of such reductions in size and connectivity. These causes include expansion of human-dominated ecosystems, creation of edges (e.g. roads), creation of barriers (e.g. dams), land clearing, monoculture, hunting, harvesting, removal of food-web species, separation of mutualistic organisms, habitat competition from introduced weed, separation of mutualistic organisms, habitat competition from introduces species, introduced predators, and other ecosystem disruption and destruction.