Landscape Connectivity and Suitable Habitat Analysis for Wolves (Canis lupus L.) in the Eastern Pyrenees
Over the last few decades, much of the mountain area in European countries has turned into potential habitat for species of medium- and large-sized mammals. Some of the occurrences that explain this trend are biodiversity protection, the creation of natural protected areas, and the abandonment of tr...
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2071-1050/12/14/5762/ 2023-08-20T04:05:46+02:00 Landscape Connectivity and Suitable Habitat Analysis for Wolves (Canis lupus L.) in the Eastern Pyrenees Carla Garcia-Lozano Diego Varga Josep Pintó Francesc Xavier Roig-Munar agris 2020-07-17 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145762 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12145762 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Sustainability; Volume 12; Issue 14; Pages: 5762 wolf ( Canis lupus ) Pyrenees habitat suitability ecological connectivity landscape fragmentation probability of connectivity (PC) Text 2020 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145762 2023-07-31T23:47:20Z Over the last few decades, much of the mountain area in European countries has turned into potential habitat for species of medium- and large-sized mammals. Some of the occurrences that explain this trend are biodiversity protection, the creation of natural protected areas, and the abandonment of traditional agricultural activities. In recent years, wolves have once again been seen in forests in the eastern sector of the Pyrenees and the Pre-Pyrenees. The success or failure of their permanent settlement will depend on several factors, including conservation measures for the species, habitat availability, and the state of landscape connectivity. The aim of this study is to analyze the state of landscape connectivity for fragments of potential wolf habitat in Catalonia, Andorra, and on the French side of the Eastern Pyrenees. The results show that a third of the area studied constitutes potential wolf habitat and almost 90% of these spaces are of sufficient size to host stable packs. The set of potential wolf habitat fragments was also assessed using the probability of connectivity index (dPC), which analyses landscape connectivity based on graph structures. According to the graph theory, the results confirm that all the nodes or habitat fragments are directly or indirectly interconnected, thus forming a single component. Given the large availability of suitable habitat and the current state of landscape connectivity for the species, the dispersal of the wolf would be favorable if stable packs are formed. A new established population in the Pyrenees could lead to more genetic exchange between the Iberian wolf population and the rest of Europe’s wolf populations. Text Canis lupus MDPI Open Access Publishing Sustainability 12 14 5762 |
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Open Polar |
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MDPI Open Access Publishing |
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ftmdpi |
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English |
topic |
wolf ( Canis lupus ) Pyrenees habitat suitability ecological connectivity landscape fragmentation probability of connectivity (PC) |
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wolf ( Canis lupus ) Pyrenees habitat suitability ecological connectivity landscape fragmentation probability of connectivity (PC) Carla Garcia-Lozano Diego Varga Josep Pintó Francesc Xavier Roig-Munar Landscape Connectivity and Suitable Habitat Analysis for Wolves (Canis lupus L.) in the Eastern Pyrenees |
topic_facet |
wolf ( Canis lupus ) Pyrenees habitat suitability ecological connectivity landscape fragmentation probability of connectivity (PC) |
description |
Over the last few decades, much of the mountain area in European countries has turned into potential habitat for species of medium- and large-sized mammals. Some of the occurrences that explain this trend are biodiversity protection, the creation of natural protected areas, and the abandonment of traditional agricultural activities. In recent years, wolves have once again been seen in forests in the eastern sector of the Pyrenees and the Pre-Pyrenees. The success or failure of their permanent settlement will depend on several factors, including conservation measures for the species, habitat availability, and the state of landscape connectivity. The aim of this study is to analyze the state of landscape connectivity for fragments of potential wolf habitat in Catalonia, Andorra, and on the French side of the Eastern Pyrenees. The results show that a third of the area studied constitutes potential wolf habitat and almost 90% of these spaces are of sufficient size to host stable packs. The set of potential wolf habitat fragments was also assessed using the probability of connectivity index (dPC), which analyses landscape connectivity based on graph structures. According to the graph theory, the results confirm that all the nodes or habitat fragments are directly or indirectly interconnected, thus forming a single component. Given the large availability of suitable habitat and the current state of landscape connectivity for the species, the dispersal of the wolf would be favorable if stable packs are formed. A new established population in the Pyrenees could lead to more genetic exchange between the Iberian wolf population and the rest of Europe’s wolf populations. |
format |
Text |
author |
Carla Garcia-Lozano Diego Varga Josep Pintó Francesc Xavier Roig-Munar |
author_facet |
Carla Garcia-Lozano Diego Varga Josep Pintó Francesc Xavier Roig-Munar |
author_sort |
Carla Garcia-Lozano |
title |
Landscape Connectivity and Suitable Habitat Analysis for Wolves (Canis lupus L.) in the Eastern Pyrenees |
title_short |
Landscape Connectivity and Suitable Habitat Analysis for Wolves (Canis lupus L.) in the Eastern Pyrenees |
title_full |
Landscape Connectivity and Suitable Habitat Analysis for Wolves (Canis lupus L.) in the Eastern Pyrenees |
title_fullStr |
Landscape Connectivity and Suitable Habitat Analysis for Wolves (Canis lupus L.) in the Eastern Pyrenees |
title_full_unstemmed |
Landscape Connectivity and Suitable Habitat Analysis for Wolves (Canis lupus L.) in the Eastern Pyrenees |
title_sort |
landscape connectivity and suitable habitat analysis for wolves (canis lupus l.) in the eastern pyrenees |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145762 |
op_coverage |
agris |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Sustainability; Volume 12; Issue 14; Pages: 5762 |
op_relation |
Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12145762 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145762 |
container_title |
Sustainability |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
14 |
container_start_page |
5762 |
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1774716494064648192 |