Why is Sloss a challenging concept?

This idea was challenged by Wilson’s former student Daniel Simberloff, who pointed out that this idea relied on the assumption that smaller reserves had a nested species composition — it assumed that each larger reserve had all the species presented in any smaller reserve.

What is meant by Sloss?

SLOSS stands for “Single Large or Several Small” and refers to two different approaches to land conservation in order to protect biodiversity in a given region.

Why is it worse for biodiversity to have several small patches of habitat instead of one large patch of habitat even if the total area is the same?

One possible reason for clumped species distributions is because the environment is clumped, in which case a set of many small patches should have higher overall heterogeneity (and so more species) than a set of few large patches.

Is it better to have a single large preserve or many small preserves of the same area?

For a species to persist in a preserve, the preserve must be large enough. One large preserve is better than the same area of several smaller preserves because there is more core habitat unaffected by edges.

Who are the experts in the SLOSS debate?

Jennifer Bove is an award-winning writer and editor with a background in field biology. Elizabeth MacLennan is a fact checker and expert on climate change. One of the most heated controversies in conservation history is known as the SLOSS Debate.

What does Sloss stand for in land conservation?

One of the most heated controversies in conservation history is known as the SLOSS Debate. SLOSS stands for “Single Large or Several Small” and refers to two different approaches to land conservation in order to protect biodiversity in a given region. The “single large” approach favors one sizeable, contiguous land reserve.

Can a SLOSS debate be solved without spatial considerations?

In the field of metapopulation ecology, modelling works suggest that the SLOSS debate should be refined and cannot be solved without explicit spatial consideration of dispersal and environmental dynamics.

How did Daniel Simberloff contribute to the SLOSS debate?

This idea was challenged by Wilson’s former student Daniel Simberloff, who pointed out that this idea relied on the assumption that smaller reserves had a nested species composition — it assumed that each larger reserve had all the species presented in any smaller reserve.