Relative Sensitivities of Mammalian Carnivores to Habitat Fragmentation

Abstract: I examined the effects of habitat fragmentation on the distribution and abundance of mammalian carnivores in coastal southern California and tested the prediction that responses to fragmentation varied with the body size of carnivore species. I conducted track surveys for nine native and two exotic carnivore species in 29 urban habitat fragments and 10 control sites. Fragment area and isolation were the two strongest landscape descriptors of predator distribution and abundance. Six species were sensitive to fragmentation, generally disappearing as habitat patches became smaller and more isolated; three species were enhanced by fragmentation, with increased abundance in highly fragmented sites; and…