Models of regional habitat quality and connectivity for pumas (Puma concolor) in the southwestern United States.

ABSTRACT: The impact of landscape changes on the quality and connectivity of habitats for multiple wildlife species is of global conservation concern. In the southwestern United States, pumas (Puma concolor) are a well distributed and wide-ranging large carnivore that are sensitive to loss of habitat and to the disruption of pathways that connect their populations. We used an expert-based approach to define and derive variables hypothesized to influence the quality, location, and permeability of habitat for pumas within an area encompassing the entire states of Arizona and New Mexico. Survey results indicated that the presence of woodland and forest cover types, rugged terrain, and canyon bottom and ridgeline topography were expected to be important predictors of both high quality habitat and height

SUBMITTER: Dickson BG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3867332 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature