A zoologist identifies the Lion-tailed macaque population declining due to fragmentation of its forest habitat. Which is the most likely ecological consequence if this trend continues?
Loss of endemic species unique to the region
The Lion-tailed macaque is endemic to the Western Ghats: it is naturally restricted to a small forest region and does not occur anywhere else in the world. When its forest habitat is broken into small, isolated patches, the population loses breeding partners, food and shelter, and slowly disappears. Because it is found nowhere else, its loss is a loss of a species unique to that region.
Habitat fragmentation does sometimes let invasive species or common widespread species enter disturbed patches, but those are secondary effects; the primary and most likely ecological consequence is the local extinction of the endemic species itself. Migratory bird populations are governed by seasonal movement, not by forest fragmentation in the Western Ghats.
Hence, the answer is Loss of endemic species unique to the region.
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