PARENT SESSION
Organized Oral Session 2: Measuring landscape connectivity - tool for species conservation
Organizer(s): P Kindlmann, F Burel, and J Baudry
Monday, August 8, 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Room 510b, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Considering connectivity in conservation planning at multiple scales: a focal species approach.
Noss, Reed *,1, Breininger, David 2, Hoctor, Thomas3, Smith, Daniel 1, 1 University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL2 Dynamac Corporation, Kennedy Space Center, FL3 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
ABSTRACT- Connectivity is a key consideration in conservation planning because, among other functions, a well-connected network of reserves might support viable populations or metapopulations of species that could not be supported within single, isolated reserves. Hence, a connected system of reserves can potentially be a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Functional connectivity is determined by the intersection of an organism's life history and the structure of the landscape, and is a very species-specific and landscape-specific property. Explicit consideration of fragmentation-sensitive focal species is therefore a useful approach in conservation planning. Because both habitat fragmentation and conservation planning are complex phenomena and take place at multiple spatial scales, the focal species selected for research and modeling should collectively span several scales of population structure and be complementary in habitat requirements, movement behavior, and vulnerability to human impacts. We consider the Florida black bear, Florida scrub-jay, and eastern indigo snake as focal species for conservation planning at several spatial scales in Florida, USA. Empirical data and population models for these three species suggest distinctly different types of sensitivity to the diverse impacts of habitat fragmentation; hence, they require different conservation strategies. All, however, are sensitive to the impacts of roads and traffic. Reduction and mitigation of the impacts of roads in Florida is urgently needed. Our work suggests that increasing use of quantitative habitat and population modeling, combined with extensive field research for carefully selected focal species will make corridor design and other aspects of connectivity planning more reliable than in the past.
Key words: connectivity, corridors, focal species, metapopulations