ponds to lay their eggs with the aid of polarized light to guide them, however, due to ecosystem modifications caused by humans they are led onto artificial structures which emit artificial light which are induced by dry asphalt dry roads for an example. Effect on microorganisms While habitat fragmentation is often associated with its effects on large plant and animal populations and biodiversity, due to the interconnectedness of ecosystems there are also significant effects that it has on the microbiota of an environment. Increased fragmentation has been linked to reduced populations and diversity of fungi responsible for decomposition, as well as the insects they are host to. This has been linked to simplified food webs in highly fragmented areas compared to old growth forests. Furthermore, edge effects have been shown to result in significantly varied microenvironments compared to interior forest due to variations in light availability, presence of wind, changes in precipitation, and overall moisture content of leaf litter. These microenvironments are often not conducive to overall forest health as they enable generalist species to thrive at the expense of specialists that depend on specific environments. Effect on mutualistic and antagonistic relationships A metadata analysis has found that habitat fragmentation greatly affects mutualistic relationships while affecting antagonistic relationships, such as predation and herbivory, to a less degree. For example, the mutualistic relationship between Mesogyne insignis and Megachile. A study has found greater pollination and increased fruit production of M. insignis in unfragmented forests verses fragmented forests. As for an example of an antagonistic relationship of nest predation, a study found that there is no increase in nest predation on fragmented forests - thus not supporting the edge effect hypothesis. Forest fragmentation Forest fragmentation is a form of habitat fragmentation where forests are reduced (either naturally or man-made) to relatively small, isolated patches of forest known as forest fragments or forest remnants. The intervening matrix that separates the remaining woodland patches can be natural open areas, farmland, or developed areas. Following the principles of island biogeography, remnant woodlands act like islands of forest in a sea of pastures, fields, subdivisions, shopping malls, etc. These fragments will then begin to undergo the process of ecosystem decay. Forest fragmentation also includes less subtle forms of discontinuities such as utility right-of-ways (ROWs). Utility ROWs are of ecological interest because they have become pervasive in many forest communities, spanning areas as large as 5 million