Intense agricultural practices have substantially changed landscapes worldwide by dividing continuous natural habitat into smaller and more isolated patches. Such habitat fragmentation is thought to represent a mayor thread to biodiversity worldwide. Yet, recent studies also suggest that some organisms may be able to adapt and persist in fragmented landscapes. In this study we use a mechanistic approach to test how different physical characteristics resulting from habitat fragmentation -reduced habitat size and connectivity and micro-climatic edge effects- impact locomotion efficiency in Zophosis punctata beetles. We used satellite images to select patches of different sizes and vegetation cover. Then, we compared locomotion performance –including mobility rate, speed, and metabolic rate during locomotion– of beetles from the different patches.
Results/Conclusions
Preliminary results indicate that beetles are responding strongly to micro-climatic edge effects by changing activity and metabolic rates. Understanding how organisms respond, through behavior and physiology, habitat fragmentation should allow us to better understand the consequences of modern agricultural practices.