Using dispersal guilds to assess connectivity at the landscape scale: a case study in the Tasmanian Midlands

The objective of this study is to explore the potential for using dispersal guilds with connectivity modelling to characterise landscape connectivity for conservation planning. By using dispersal guilds as the focal conservation target, we can capture a range of responses to fragmentation without having to resort to time‐consuming single species modelling. This approach can identify those groups of species that are most impacted by fragmentation and are likely to benefit most from restoring links within a landscape. As well as developing the dispersal guild concept, we describe a process for engaging experts in eliciting the ecological and dispersal characteristics of target species, and identifying dispersal groups through cluster analysis of these characteristics. We used a case study in the Our study area the Northern Midlands of Tasmania to illustrate this approach.