EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Larger population sizes, often approximated by patch area, are believed to be less prone to extinction resulting from demographic stochasticity, while the colonization probability of an empty patch is largely determined by its isolation to other surrounding populations.

Detailed explanation-2: -Large patches typically conserve a greater variety and quality of habitats, resulting in higher species diversity and abundance. The larger the patch is, the higher percentage of interior habitat that it will contain. This benefits interior species which are often the most vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation.

Detailed explanation-3: -Species diversity (H’) increased with patch size and was significantly greater in large patches than in small patches. Thus, patch size may be an important factor affecting diversity of early successional species, but its influence varies among species.

Detailed explanation-4: -Most studies use habitat patch area and isolation in conjunction with occupancy when modelling population viability. Based on general principles, colonization rate is expected to decline with distance to source populations, whereas extinction rate is assumed to increase with declining habitat patch size.