Developers is Florida are building a new theme park that includes several tropical gardens. Their goal is that the gardens become self-sustaining through good conservation practices. They have taken into account the carrying capacity of the gardens, the food webs, niches, and interspecific competition of the species they plan to include. The last task is to design the lay-out of the garden habitats within the park.

According to island theory, which layout is BEST and why?
A) A. One habitat is always better than multiple for survival.
B) B. Dispersal and movement is easier in a straight path or corridor.
C) C. Decreasing distance between habitats increases the likelihood of interaction.
D) D. Increasing the distance between habitats decreases the likelihood of predation.

Distance IS important – decreasing distances between habitats improves the probability of interactions such as migration and breeding and also aids in dispersal between habitats. One large habitat is also favored over several small habitats, but in this case, the single habitat is not significantly larger than the three smaller.