Theory 22/Larger reserves protect more species
Shape Beats Area
The claim
At equal area, a compact reserve protects more interior species than an elongated one, because edge penetration is fixed while perimeter scales.
01Mechanism
Edges change conditions inward by a fixed depth regardless of shape.
02Prediction
Interior species should track perimeter-to-area ratio.
03Refutation
Interior richness tracking area alone would remove the shape effect.