We cut down forests to build our homes and feed our growing population, while destroying the homes and food of our native wildlife. Obviously, Florida's native species are suffering. To date efforts to preserve biological diversity have mostly been centered on preserving individual species and tracts of land. By looking at the threats to Florida's biodiversity, we may be able to come up with some additional approaches. While viewing Florida's landscape, you may notice that natural habitats have not only been lost, but also fragmented into different size patches.
Roads serve as barriers, confining many species of wildlife within restricted areas.
In these small habitat patches, organisms must carry out life functions within the area, or must attempt to cross into other suitable areas. These options have different outcomes, depending on the specific traits of the species in question, and the size of the patch in which they occur. For species that are able to remain in a small area for their entire life cycle, a small patch may seem at first to be suitable habitat. However, small, isolated areas can accommodate only a few individuals of any particular species. In this situation, inbreeding becomes a potential problem.