Habitat isolation challenges species dispersal to colonise and occupy new locations.
A paper published in Biology Letters by Dr Pablo Munguia entitled ‘Role of sources and temporal sinks in a marine amphipod,’ explores how populations can survive in isolated habitats, and how new populations of a small marine crustacean respond to habitat isolation.
The results suggest that newly established populations are vulnerable if they do not receive a constant supply of new immigrants. These effects could translate to long-term effects such as a decrease in genetic diversity.
Image source: flickr
