AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Habitat fragmentation can be described as the splitting of natural habitats and ecosystems into smaller, more isolated patches (Fig. 1, C). It is the process of subdividing a continuous habitat into smaller pieces (Fig. 1, A).

Detailed explanation-2: -Fragmentation happens when parts of a habitat are destroyed, leaving behind smaller unconnected areas. This can occur naturally, as a result of fire or volcanic eruptions, but is normally due to human activity.

Detailed explanation-3: -First, habitat fragmentation causes the non-random loss of species that make major contributions to ecosystem functioning (decreasing sampling effect), and reduces mutualistic interactions (decreasing complementarity effects) regardless of the changes in species richness.

Detailed explanation-4: -Habitat loss generally refers to the decrease in the spatial extent of natural habitat, including forest, grassland, desert, and wetlands [1, 2], whereas habitat fragmentation per se is the breaking apart of habitat after controlling for habitat loss [3].