Abundance and range relationship in a fragmented landscape: Connections and contrasts between competing models

The specialization and metapopulation dynamics hypotheses are the most prominent alternative explanations of the oft-reported correlation between the distribution and abundance of species. We suggest that mechanisms underlying the two explanations are interacting to produce the correlation. We aim to quantify the relative contribution of the mechanisms underlying the two proposed explanations, should both have some validity. An analysis of 40 …