Testing whether connectivity stabilizes metacommunities
The theory that connectivity can stabilize metacommunities has rarely been tested, but new empirical evidence from a 25-year California grassland study provides a clear and surprising answer.
How dangerous is dispersal across habitat boundaries?
While we usually think of the matrix between habitat patches as inhospitable, it may support seeds better than previously thought - but only as a one-way street.
Population synchrony across ecosystem boundaries
The link between shorebirds on land and kelp forests on rocky reefs highlights how connectivity plays an important role in ecosystem stability.
Connectivity metrics for protected area networks
A comparison of 17 different metrics used to assess progress toward protected area goals reveals how useful it can be to keep it simple.
State-by-state connectivity policy guide: California
California has spent over a decade demonstrating a strong commitment to connectivity across a large region characterized by diverse ecosystems, abundant wildlife, and burgeoning urban development.
Dynamic conservation reserves made of fallowed cropland
Farm fields that are temporarily or semi-permanently fallow due to drought may improve landscapes connectivity by lowering agricultural intensity.
“Strategy mapping” to effectively prioritize connectivity conservation
A novel, spatially-explicit framework combines land ownership and connectivity value to provide a more useful bridge between modeling and implementation.
Planning for connectivity based on land use, topography, and climate
A comprehensive framework for incorporating climate adaptation into present-day linkages ensures a better link between modeling and conservation action.
Both social and landscape networks are needed for effective climate-wise connectivity
A recent assessment from the Mayacamas to Berryessa Connectivity Network in northern California underlines the importance of connecting both landscapes and people in order to achieve climate resilience goals.
Will current marine reserve networks still be effective under climate change?
Most current marine reserves were designed without accounting for climate change. A new study quantifies whether redesigned reserves might be more ready for the future.
How do you build a corridor for invertebrates?
While we often think about corridor design for large, far-ranging animals, less attention is paid to how we ensure that populations of invertebrates stay connected.
Which data types and connectivity algorithms best capture individual movement?
A comparison between data, such as points from GPS collars or genetic data, and between connectivity algorithms, such as cost distance or circuit theory, reveals which methods best capture dispersal.
Wind energy infrastructure may funnel wildlife movement
Camera traps at desert tortoise burrows in southern California show that wind energy facilities influence the behavior of mammalian predators and their prey.
Not all agriculture is created equal when you’re on the move
Assessments of animal movement through different land cover types often lump “agriculture” into one general category. In their recent American Midland Naturalist paper, Nogeire et al. show that this can lead to misleading conclusions about [...]
Floodplain rehabilitation as a way to preserve migratory connectivity
For species that rely on river networks to migrate, changes in storm frequency, duration, intensity or temperature might have a major impact on whether enough water is available to migrate at all. Groups of [...]