Landscape Ecology vol. 5 no. 2 pp 93-106 (1991) SPB Academic Publishing bv, The Hague

Metapopulations are conceived as spatially structured populations consisting of distinct units tions), separated by space or barriers, and connected by dispersal movements. Metapopulations characteristi- cally demonstrate a turnover of local populations going extinct and becoming re-established, resulting in a distribution pattern that shifts over time. Metapopulation theory is used to analyse the effects of habitat fragmentation on birds in the temperate zone, integrating various explanations for the paucity of species in isolated ecotopes