Top Highlights

• The metapopulation approach was useful in understanding the occupancy pattern and persistence of E. aurinia within this landscape. The probability of patch occupancy increased with patch connectivity (isolated patches were less likely to be occupied), vegetation height and resource area (patch area multiplied by host plant cover). Such a pattern wa...
• Habitat restoration and re-creation will be necessary in many networks with insufficient habitat area. Experimental investigation into methods of habitat restoration showed that unsuitable but potential habitat may be restored through cutting twice a year in combination with grazing.
• One commonly adopted approach (Forman 1995) is through the concept of species persisting within a regional network of suitable habitat, as a metapopulation
• At extremely low densities individuals may face the further problem of the Allee effect, which refers to a decrease in population growth rate due to difficulties in finding mates, decreased foraging efficiencies and reduced defences against predators.
• Patch size is often measured as a proxy for population size for use in metapopulation models based on the assumption, stated above, that patch and population size are correlated.

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