Understanding functional connectivity

The potential impact of climate change on the connectivity of habitats has become an area of concern among scientists and land managers. Key questions include how to identify and prioritize corridors for maintaining and enhancing functional connectivity, identification of vulnerable species and populations, and identification of those populations that may require habitat restoration or assisted migration to maintain viability. Our goal is to produce tools to understand all levels of functional (dispersal and genetic) connectivity that are necessary for conservation practices from genes to ecosystems.

Software development

• UNICOR: A species connectivity and corridor identification tool.

• GARM: A genetic algorithm for resistance map creation.

• CDPOP: A spatially-explicit cost distance population genetics program.

• CDFISH: A tool for gene flow and connectivity in riverscapes.

Software applications

• Interactive web-based mapping.

• Vulnerability mapping.