Passage Summary: Breaking up large forests into small chunks creates a perfect environment for mice that carry Lyme disease, which eventually gets passed to people by ticks.

Reasoning: Forest fragmentation creates small patches where white-footed mice thrive, and these mice are the primary carriers of Lyme disease bacteria, which ticks then transmit to humans.

Analysis: In this 'Most Strongly Supported' scenario, we are looking for a logical inference that connects the dots between the provided facts. We know that fragmentation leads to more mice, and more mice lead to a higher prevalence of the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Therefore, it is highly likely that human populations living near fragmented forests face a higher risk of contracting the disease. Look for an answer that establishes this causal link between environmental changes and public health risks.