Case study: Habitat connectivity for the Mexican wolf

 

The endangered Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is being restored to the southwestern United States. Conserving habitat linkages may be important for facilitating dispersal between populations. We used a habitat model for the species as input to an analysis of shortest-path betweenness centrality and current-flow betweenness centrality (BC). The figure below shows the most important linkages from shortest-path BC in purple, with the red areas in the background showing areas of high current flow, which are connectivity 'pinchpoints' where much potential dispersal flow is being routed through relatively limited habitat. Comparing results from the 2 methods provides more information for linkage conservation planning than does either method alone. Conservation guidelines might focus on the most important shortest-path linkages but give additional attention to areas with high current flow as well.