Habitat fragmentation: critical role in the decline and recovery of coral reef fish biodiversity

面对环境退化和气候变化，保护生物多样性是我们这个时代面临的最大挑战。虽然栖息地碎片化被认为是目前物种灭绝危机的一个关键原因，但栖息地结构变化对物种持久性和恢复的影响几乎完全未知。珊瑚礁是地球上最多样化和最受威胁的生态系统之一，该项目将首次深入了解珊瑚礁鱼类多样性如何应对珊瑚礁栖息地日益细分和孤立的情况。它将确定栖息地变化的关键方面，这些方面要么增强当地多样性，要么威胁种群灭绝，并提供新的生态数据，以完善保护战略。

Preserving biodiversity in the face of environmental degradation and climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. Although habitat fragmentation is considered a key cause of the current extinction crisis, the effects of changing habitat configuration on species persistence and recovery is almost completely unknown. Coral reefs are among the most diverse and threatened ecosystems on the planet and this project will provide the first insights into how coral reef fish diversity responds to increased subdivision and isolation of reef habitat. It will identify critical aspects of habitat change that either enhance local diversity or threaten populations with extinction and provide new ecological data to refine conservation strategies.