Macroecology of Caribbean Bats: Effects of Area, Elevation, Latitude, and Hurricane-Induced Disturbance

Understanding the geographic and environmental characteristics of islands that affect aspects of biodiversity is a major theme in ecology (Begon et al. 2006; Krebs 2001) and biogeography (Cox and Moore 2000; Drakare et al. 2006; Lomolino et al. 2006). Such understanding has become particularly relevant over the past century because human activities on continents have fragmented natural landscapes, often creating islands of isolated habitat dispersed within a sea of land uses that include agriculture, forestry, and various degrees of urban and suburban development. The increasingly fragmented or islandlike structure of mainland habitats has critical ramifications to conservation biology, as it provides insights regarding the mechanisms leading to species persistence and loss. Consequently, the study of patterns and mechanisms associated with island biodiversity is of interest in its own right (Whittaker 1998; Williamson 1981), and may provide critical insights into mainland phenomena that otherwise could not be studied because of ethical, financial, or logistical considerations involved with the execution of large-scale manipulative experiments.

Refuge Update – September/October 2008, Volume 5, Number 5

Table of Contents: Rebuilding after Hurricane Ike, page 3 Texas and Louisiana refuges were severely damaged in mid-September. A Crane Species Rebounding, page 5 At a Mississippi refuge, the world’s longest-running crane reintroduction program is succeeding. Focus on. . . Refuge System Wetlands, pages 8-13 The Refuge System manages wetlands to enhance their value for migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, threatened and endangered species and a myriad of native fish, wildlife, and plants. Fluttering Close to Extinction, page 17. Antioch Dunes Refuge is out to save the Lange’s metalmark butterfly.