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Habitat fragmentation is often a cause of species becoming threatened or endangered. [25] The existence of viable habitat is critical to the survival of any species, and in many cases, the fragmentation of any remaining habitat can lead to difficult decisions for conservation biologists.
Fragmentation can be the cause of natural forces or human actions, although in modern times, human activity is the most common cause. [2] Some general causes of fragmentation are: the development of land around a protected area, even through the addition of a single road lane or fence line,
Habitat degradation, fragmentation, and pollution are aspects of habitat destruction caused by humans that do not necessarily involve over destruction of habitat, yet result in habitat collapse. Desertification , deforestation , and coral reef degradation are specific types of habitat destruction for those areas ( deserts , forests , coral reefs ).
Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. [1] It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in terms of any one ideology .
Areas with small habitat fragments exhibit especially pronounced edge effects that may extend throughout the range. As the edge effects increase, the boundary habitat allows for greater biodiversity. Urbanization is causing humans to continuously fragment landscapes and thus increase the edge effect.
This leads to a lack of a skill set for the animal to adjust and adapt to a new environment. Habitat fragmentation and loss lead to smaller habitat sizes, and ecosystem decay predicts ecological processes are changed so heavily in smaller habitats that the loss in diversity is more extreme than expected by fragmentation alone. [2]
Habitat fragmentation can be caused by roads. When humans start to cut down the trees for logging, secondary roads are created that will go unused after its primary use. Once abandoned, the plants of the rainforest will find it difficult to grow back in that area. [37] Forest fragmentation also opens the path for illegal hunting.
These causes include habitat modification and fragmentation, introduced predators or competitors, introduced species, pollution, pesticide use, or over-harvesting. However, many amphibian declines or extinctions have occurred in pristine habitats where the above effects are not likely to occur.