How does habitat fragmentation affect biodiversity? A controversial question at the core of conservation biology

[Extract] Does habitat fragmentation harm biodiversity? For many years, most conservation biologists would say “yes.” It seems intuitive that fragmentation divides habitats into smaller patches, which support fewer species (Haddad et al., 2015). Edge effects further erode the ability of small patches to support some species. This reasoning has been invoked, for example, when interpreting the results of iconic conservation experiments and studies, such as the large forest fragments experiment in the Brazilian Amazon (Laurance et al., 2011), and has been supported by meta-analyses of the findings of fragmentation experiments (Haddad et al., 2015). The negative effects of fragmentation are taught to students in introductory biology, ecology, and conservation courses and featured in textbooks