A removal and translocation experiment to examine dispersal and recolonisation by small mammals in fragmented habitats

Habitat loss and landscape fragmentation are major factors influencing the decline of species worldwide. an understanding of their effects is needed to develop effective strategies for conserving wildlife. The persistence of species in fragmented landscapes can depend on dispersal of animals to recolonise habitat patches. Very little is known about this process. A rigorously-designed field experiment will be completed in which populations of small mammals are manipulated by removal from habitat patches and translocation to other patches. Relationships will be identified between the time required to recolonise patches and patch size and patch isolation.