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Abstract. Understanding local and global extinction is a fundamental objective of both basic and applied ecology. Island biogeography theory (IBT) and succession theory provide frameworks for understanding extinction in changing landscapes. We explore the relative contribution of fragment size vs. succession on species' declines by examining distributions of abundances for 18 plant species declining over time in an experimentally fragmented landscape in northeast Kansas, USA. If patch size effects dominate, early-successional species should persist longer on large patches, but if successional processes dominate, the reverse should hold, because in our system woody plant colonization is accelerated on large patches. To compare the patterns in abundance among patch sizes, we characterize joint shifts in local abundance and occupancy with a new metric: rank occupancy-abundance profiles (ROAPs). As succession progressed, statistically significant patch size effects emerged for II of 18 species. More earlysuccessional species persisted longer on large patches, despite the fact that woody encroachment (succession) progressed faster in these patches. Clonal perennial species persisted longer on large patches compared to small patches. All species that persisted longer on small patcheswere annuals that recruit from the seed bank each year. The degree to which species declined in occupancy vs. abundance varied dramatically among species: some species declined first in occupancy, others remained widespread or even expanded their distribution, even as they declined in local abundance. Consequently, species exhibited various types of rarity as succession progressed. Understanding the effect of fragmentation on extinction trajectories requires a species-by-species approach encompassing both occupancy and local abundance. We propose that ROAPs provide a useful tool for comparing the distribution of local abundances among landscape types, years, and species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire frequency has significant effects on the biota of tallgrass prairie, including mammals, vascular plants and birds. Recent concern has been expressed that widespread annual burning, sometimes in combination with heavy livestock grazing, negatively impacts the biota of remaining prairie remnants. A common management recommendation, intended to address this problem, is to create a landscape with a mosaic of different burn regimes. Pitfall trapping was used to investigate the impacts of fire pattern on the diversity and species composition of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) at Konza Prairie Biological Station in eastern Kansas, USA. Trapping was conducted over three seasons in landscape units burned on average every 1, 4, or 20 years, and in a fourth season across the available range of vegetative structure to assess the variability of the community within the study system. In the fifth season communities were also followed immediately after two fire events to detect within-season effects of fire and to study short-term patterns of post-disturbance community assembly. Fire frequency had comparatively minimal effects on ground beetle diversity measures, and most numerically common species were observed widely across habitat and management types. Fire frequency effects were manifested primarily in changes in abundance of common species. Colonization of burned areas apparently did not occur from juxtaposed non-burned areas, but from underground or from long distances. While these results suggest that widespread annual burning of tallgrass prairie remnants may not have dramatic effects on prairie ground beetles, we urge caution regarding the application of these results to other taxa within tallgrass prairie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary succession reflects, at least in part, community assembly-the sequences of colonizations and extinctions. These processes in turn are expected to be sensitive to the size of the site undergoing assembly and its location relative to source pools. In this paper we describe patterns of succession over 18 years in an experimentally fragmented landscape created in eastern Kansas, USA, in 1984. The design of the experiment permits one to assess the influence of patch size and landscape position on successional dynamics. The general trajectory of succession follows that typical of succession in much of the eastern United States. In the initial years of the study, there was relatively little effect of patch size or distance to sources. Here we show that spatial effects in this system have become increasingly evident with time, as gauged both by repeated-measures ANOVA and ordination techniques. Woody plants have colonized more rapidly (per unit area) on large and nearby patches. Species richness at a local (within-quadrat) scale in general has increased, with slightly greater richness in large than in small patches later in the study. Temporal stability in community composition has generally been greater in large patches. Spatial heterogeneity in community composition has increased during succession, but with different patterns in large and small patches. This long-term experiment suggests that landscape structure influences many aspects of community structure and dynamics during succession, and that stich effects become more pronounced with the passage of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]