Brett Dickson and colleagues publish a paper on puma habitat connectivity

Brett Dickson and colleagues Gary Roemer, Brad McRae, and Jill Rundall recently published a paper on the impacts of landscape changes on puma habitat in Arizona and New Mexico. The group identified 67 high-quality habitat patches and modeled regional connectivity using concepts from electronic circuit theory. The study results — a series of current flow maps showing relationships between the patches — provide a first approximation of habitat quality and connectivity for dispersing pumas in the Southwest. These results can help inform regional conservation planning efforts by providing insights into the connective value of different habitat components and the critical pinch points or linkages for animal movement.

Read the entire paper online in PLOS ONE.

Puma Connectivity