Persistence

A species persistence is related to its ability of surviving in a given environment. Persistence can be defined generally as the continued presence of a species in a given geographic area. Locally, it can be measured in units of time where a species persistence time is defined as the time between local colonization and extinction in a given geographic area.

To predict a species' persistence in a given area, one must consider the species's colonization potential as well as the species' chance of extinction.