The Genetic Consequences of Habitat Fragmentation

Abstract

The natural habitats of many species have become fragmented into small "islands," principally by human activities.In this paper we discuss the long-term genetic and evolutionary consequences o studies on populations that have undergone natural habita the highest land formation found in the midwestern United States.Because o t fragmentation in the O ragmentation as inferred from а most severe genetic сOn the positive side, the genetic variation of a fragmented species is not totally lost but is often present as fixe genetic variation at the global level for long periods of time.We discuss the optimal design for a recolonization program to prevent global extinction and to maintain high levels of global genetic variation.' We thank the many graduate and undergraduate students who aided us in the collection and genetic surveys of ag the various species discussed in this paper.Our special thanks go to