Just a hypothesis: a reply to Hanski |
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Authors: | Lenore Fahrig |
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Affiliation: | Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6 |
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Abstract: | Hanski's critique of the habitat amount hypothesis (Hanski, 2015, Journal of Biogeography, 42 , 989–993) does not actually constitute a test of the hypothesis, but rather a series of arguments for why he suspects that it is not correct. But the habitat amount hypothesis is exactly that – a hypothesis. It will remain ‘just’ a hypothesis until it has been rigorously tested against empirical data. To facilitate such testing, in Fahrig (2013, Journal of Biogeography, 40 , 1649–1663) I presented specific, testable predictions of the hypothesis. Here, I reiterate the main tests needed, in the hope that some readers will be encouraged to carry them out. I appreciate this opportunity to emphasize that the habitat amount hypothesis needs to be tested against empirical data, and I look forward to seeing the results of such tests. |
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Keywords: | Area effect habitat amount hypothesis habitat fragmentation habitat loss landscape scale local landscape local patch patch size scale of effect |
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