The structural connectivity threshold: An hypothesis in conservation biology at the landscape scale

This paper focuses on the effect of connectivity on biodiversity by proposing a testable hypothesis of a structural connectivity threshold. Evidence of this threshold is supported by percolation theory and by biological models of extinction. Hypothesizing the existence of this connectivity threshold, a conceptual model linking connectivity and biodiversity is presented. We suggested different measurements of connectivity to test the hypothesis of a structural threshold. The identification of this threshold is considered as a practical means to facilitate biological fluxes and optimize species colonization possibilities in designing a policy of conservation biology al the landscape scale.