Final answer:
Decreasing the average patch size cannot compensate for the increased isolation of habitat patches, as larger patches are essential for maintaining species diversity and ecological connectivity. Conservation strategies should instead focus on protecting and connecting larger habitat areas.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that 'Increasing isolation of habitat patches can be compensated for by decreasing the average patch size' is false. A key factor in species survival in fragmented habitats is the size of the habitat patches. Larger habitat patches can support greater species richness due to the species-area relationship, which states that as habitat fragment size increases, so does the number of species it can support.
Habitat fragmentation leads to the isolation of populations, which can restrict immigration and emigration among patches, contributing to an increased risk of extinction for those species that are dependent on large, continuous habitats. Moreover, habitat quality, the presence of corridors or 'stepping stones,' and the nature of surrounding landscapes can heavily influence connectivity and the long-term survival of species.
Conservation efforts often focus on protecting larger areas or connecting small patches with corridors to maintain species diversity and mitigate the effects of isolation. Therefore, simply decreasing patch size is not an effective strategy to counteract the negative impacts of increasing habitat isolation.