2003/05/22 by Jianguo Wu, Jianhui Huang, Xingguo Han +2 · 373 citations
Environmental Science · #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies #Rangeland and Wildlife Management #Fragmentation (computing) #Habitat fragmentation #Habitat #Biodiversity #Three gorges #Ecosystem #Habitat destruction #Ecology #Geography #Environmental resource management #Biodiversity hotspot #Habitat conservation #Environmental science #Biology #Geology
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1083312
published in Science 300(5623), 1239-1240 (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
openalex publication_date 2003/05/22 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/08
Habitat fragmentation is the primary cause of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, but its underlying processes and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Studies of islands and insular terrestrial habitats are essential for improving our understanding of habitat fragmentation. We argue that the Three-Gorges Dam, the largest that humans have ever created, presents a unique grand-scale natural experiment that allows ecologists to address a range of critical questions concerning the theory and practice of biodiversity conservation.