Abstract: Amid the ongoing increase in species extinctions, habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats to preserving biodiversity. Contentious debate has ensued on the impacts of fragmentation on biodiversity, with some studies observing negative effects of fragmentation are more common, while others argue that habitat fragmentation can has positive effects on biodiversity. This argument is likely due to a lack of consistency in defining and quantifying fragmentation, uncertainty about whether the observed effects are caused by fragmentation or habitat loss, and the challenges of conducting field studies to distinguish and identify the impacts of fragmentation and habitat loss. Furthermore, species may respond differently to the same level of fragmentation according to their characteristics. For instance, locomotion strategies could determine success and survivorship under fragmentation because different locomotion speeds may change how easily a species can travel between patches or increase the likelihood of leaving resource filled patches to avoid factors such as competition or predation. However, the role of locomotion in determining species survivorship under fragmentation has rarely been studied, partially due to the limitations of field testing. We aim to simulate the effects of various intensity of fragmentation and determine the role of locomotion on species survivorship under fragmentation. We created patterns of fragmentation by using 3D printed blocks to place the E. coli (food) in specific shapes in square (100mmx100mm) petri dishes. We used three locomotion speeds of Caenorhabditis elegans (low, intermediate and high), foraging in each experimental fragmentation environment for five days when they nearly deplete E. coli on each plate and the majority of the worms reach the L4-stage, which along with adult animals, are easiest to score under the microscope. Upon completion, population abundance was measured by counting the total number of worms ranging from L3 to adult stage individuals on each plate. We found that habitat fragmentation had a negative impact on all strains as the fragmentation increased, especially in environments with low total habitat. Additionally, we found that slower moving strains were affected the most by fragmentation, suggesting that such locomotion strategy is more vulnerable to habitat fragmentation. Our findings will also be valuable for studies looking at the role of locomotion speed in various habitats on species abundance. As habitat loss and fragmentation continue, there is a growing need to find out how much space is needed to ensure species survival.
