Using Cost Surface Analysis and Least Cost Paths to Analyze Dispersal of Gray Wolves in the Northern Rockies, U.S.A.
The recent delisting of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the Northern Rockies region marks a change in the management scheme employed by state wildlife agencies. The wolf population in this region has expanded rapidly since its reintroduction in 1994 and has reached sufficient size to merit removal from...
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fttexasstate:oai:digital.library.txstate.edu:10877/4397 2023-05-15T15:49:48+02:00 Using Cost Surface Analysis and Least Cost Paths to Analyze Dispersal of Gray Wolves in the Northern Rockies, U.S.A. Crossley, Paul Jensen, Jennifer Huebner, Donald J. Chow, T. Edwin 2012-11-30T21:53:15Z Text 94 pages 1 file (.pdf) application/pdf https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/4397 en eng Crossley, P. (2012). Using cost surface analysis and least cost paths to analyze dispersal of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, U.S.A. (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas. https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/4397 Cost surface snalysis Least cost path Gray wolf Canis lupus Dispersal Wildlife management Gray wolf--Reintroduction--Rocky Mountains Wildlife recovery--Rocky Mountains Geographic information systems Digital mapping 2012 fttexasstate 2022-07-30T22:06:02Z The recent delisting of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the Northern Rockies region marks a change in the management scheme employed by state wildlife agencies. The wolf population in this region has expanded rapidly since its reintroduction in 1994 and has reached sufficient size to merit removal from the federal list of threatened and endangered species. The following study employs cost surface analysis to model wolf movements across the Northern Rockies region. An examination of wolf habitat selection in the region allows for the development of a friction surface by assigning different friction values to several landscape variables (land cover class, slope, and proximity to roads). This friction surface serves as the basis for the creation of least cost paths between known wolf territories. Buffers around these paths highlight areas of especial importance for wolf movements through the region. This model is corroborated by comparing the landscape variables in the paths and the buffered areas with known wolf habitat selection. The study found that the least cost paths closely mirrored wolf habitat selection. From the least cost paths, the study concludes that a regional perspective on wolf management will benefit the species as dispersal routes often cross political boundaries. Geography Other/Unknown Material Canis lupus gray wolf Texas State University: Digital Collections Repository Northern Rockies ENVELOPE(-123.446,-123.446,59.074,59.074) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Texas State University: Digital Collections Repository |
op_collection_id |
fttexasstate |
language |
English |
topic |
Cost surface snalysis Least cost path Gray wolf Canis lupus Dispersal Wildlife management Gray wolf--Reintroduction--Rocky Mountains Wildlife recovery--Rocky Mountains Geographic information systems Digital mapping |
spellingShingle |
Cost surface snalysis Least cost path Gray wolf Canis lupus Dispersal Wildlife management Gray wolf--Reintroduction--Rocky Mountains Wildlife recovery--Rocky Mountains Geographic information systems Digital mapping Crossley, Paul Using Cost Surface Analysis and Least Cost Paths to Analyze Dispersal of Gray Wolves in the Northern Rockies, U.S.A. |
topic_facet |
Cost surface snalysis Least cost path Gray wolf Canis lupus Dispersal Wildlife management Gray wolf--Reintroduction--Rocky Mountains Wildlife recovery--Rocky Mountains Geographic information systems Digital mapping |
description |
The recent delisting of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the Northern Rockies region marks a change in the management scheme employed by state wildlife agencies. The wolf population in this region has expanded rapidly since its reintroduction in 1994 and has reached sufficient size to merit removal from the federal list of threatened and endangered species. The following study employs cost surface analysis to model wolf movements across the Northern Rockies region. An examination of wolf habitat selection in the region allows for the development of a friction surface by assigning different friction values to several landscape variables (land cover class, slope, and proximity to roads). This friction surface serves as the basis for the creation of least cost paths between known wolf territories. Buffers around these paths highlight areas of especial importance for wolf movements through the region. This model is corroborated by comparing the landscape variables in the paths and the buffered areas with known wolf habitat selection. The study found that the least cost paths closely mirrored wolf habitat selection. From the least cost paths, the study concludes that a regional perspective on wolf management will benefit the species as dispersal routes often cross political boundaries. Geography |
author2 |
Jensen, Jennifer Huebner, Donald J. Chow, T. Edwin |
author |
Crossley, Paul |
author_facet |
Crossley, Paul |
author_sort |
Crossley, Paul |
title |
Using Cost Surface Analysis and Least Cost Paths to Analyze Dispersal of Gray Wolves in the Northern Rockies, U.S.A. |
title_short |
Using Cost Surface Analysis and Least Cost Paths to Analyze Dispersal of Gray Wolves in the Northern Rockies, U.S.A. |
title_full |
Using Cost Surface Analysis and Least Cost Paths to Analyze Dispersal of Gray Wolves in the Northern Rockies, U.S.A. |
title_fullStr |
Using Cost Surface Analysis and Least Cost Paths to Analyze Dispersal of Gray Wolves in the Northern Rockies, U.S.A. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Using Cost Surface Analysis and Least Cost Paths to Analyze Dispersal of Gray Wolves in the Northern Rockies, U.S.A. |
title_sort |
using cost surface analysis and least cost paths to analyze dispersal of gray wolves in the northern rockies, u.s.a. |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/4397 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-123.446,-123.446,59.074,59.074) |
geographic |
Northern Rockies |
geographic_facet |
Northern Rockies |
genre |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
op_relation |
Crossley, P. (2012). Using cost surface analysis and least cost paths to analyze dispersal of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, U.S.A. (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas. https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/4397 |
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1766384823474061312 |