Open AccessInforming Strategic Efforts to Expand and Connect Protected Areas Using a Model of Ecological Flow, with Application to the Western United States
Author(s) -
Dickson Brett G.,
Albano Christine M.,
McRae Brad H.,
Anderson Jesse J.,
Theobald David M.,
Zachmann Luke J.,
Sisk Thomas D.,
Dombeck Michael P.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
conservation letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.153
H-Index - 79
ISSN - 1755-263X
DOI - 10.1111/conl.12322
Subject(s) - resistance (ecology) , biodiversity , geography , environmental resource management , landscape connectivity , centrality , ecology , land use , ecological network , wildlife corridor , ecosystem , environmental science , habitat , biology , biological dispersal , population , demography , mathematics , combinatorics , sociology
Under rapid landscape change, there is a significant need to expand and connect protected areas (PAs) to prevent further loss of biodiversity and preserve ecological functions across broad geographies. We used a model of landscape resistance and electronic circuit theory to estimate patterns of ecological flow among existing PAs in the western United States. We applied these results to areas previously identified as having high conservation value to distinguish those best positioned to maintain and enhance ecological connectivity and integrity. We found that current flow centrality was highest and effective resistance lowest in areas that spanned the border between southern Oregon and Idaho, and in northern Arizona and central Utah. Compared to other federal jurisdictions, Bureau of Land Management lands contributed most to ecological connectivity, forming “connective tissue” among existing PAs. Our models and maps can inform new conservation strategies and critical land allocation decisions, within or among jurisdictions.