What is the critical reason why habitat destruction poses a greater long-term threat than just the immediate loss of trees?
Answer
It fragments the canopy, isolating small populations and reducing genetic diversity
While the immediate impact of deforestation is the removal of large, mature, fruit-bearing trees, leading to rapid food collapse, a more subtle but significant long-term danger is habitat fragmentation. When the continuous forest canopy is broken up by agricultural expansion or logging, it separates populations into smaller, isolated pockets. This isolation prevents necessary movement and genetic exchange between these groups, leading to a reduction in overall genetic diversity over time, which severely compromises the long-term viability and adaptability of the species.
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