What is the minimum combination of areas needed to protect at least one population of every species in a region? - This is a problem commonly addressed when aiming at cost-effective reserve networks. However, because the stress on reserve cost, the properties of the reserve-network for species persistence are often overlooked, typically resulting in the selection of tiny and scattered reserves. If habitat loss occurs at the surrounding of such reserves local extinctions may be commonplace.
In the forthcoming issue of Ecology Letters, Cabeza addresses this problem with a novel approach that integrates habitat modelling and spatial population dynamics in reserve-network design. The method incorporates the quantitative effect of habitat loss onto the reserve-selection process and determines the probabilities of occurrence of species in the reserves (given their ability to disperse and the spatial locations of the reserves). This approach represents a step towards a more realistic consideration of the survival of species when selecting reserve networks in a changing world.
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