Theory 93/Urban & Built Environment/Urban wildlife
Urban Diversity Is Area and Connection
The claim
Urban biodiversity is set by the ratio of habitat area to isolation, so many small connected patches support more species than one large isolated one of the same total area.
01Mechanism
Species persist where patches are large enough to support populations and close enough to recolonise; the ratio determines the balance.
02Prediction
Diversity should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Diversity tracking total area would remove connectivity.