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Title: Causes for Biodiversity Differences Between Local Neighborhoods? Post by: zoiberg137 on Apr 25, 2014 I lived in the same area for 29 years now. In the neighborhood in which I grew up it wasn't uncommon to see slugs crawling around on sidewalks and porches. I'm living in a neighborhood now about 3 miles away where I never see slugs, but I do see snails just as often! I also see frogs or toads here where I've never seen them in my previous neighborhood. I've never seen a chipmunk in my current neighborhood but if I walk a half mile east, the chipmunks are almost as common as squirrels.
My questions is...what causes these minor differences in biodiversity within such short distances? Is there a name for this phenomenon? I am wondering if this could make a good topic for research...if anyone knows of research or articles or books regarding this or similar topics, please let me know! Thanks! Title: Re: Causes for Biodiversity Differences Between Local Neighborhoods? Post by: bio_man on Apr 26, 2014 Hello zoiberg137,
Thanks for joining, here are some possibilities as to why you're noticing these subtle differences: 1) Selective pressure due to pesticides. You never know what might have been used in the past. 2) Edge effects. In ecology, edge effects refer to the changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two habitats. Areas with small habitat fragments exhibit especially pronounced edge effects that may extend throughout the range. As the edge effects increase, the boundary habitat allows for greater biodiversity. Any hypothesis would be acceptable here, but it's hard to tell without more information. |