Dissertation Research: Case Study of Effectiveness of Habitat Corridors

9410874条用于动物扩散的卡里瓦走廊作为减少受威胁物种灭绝风险的一种管理选择，正在受到越来越多的审查。其想法是，这些走廊通过不同地区之间的个体交换来鼓励遗传多样性，并为可能因偶然灾难而灭绝的当地人口提供重新殖民的工具。虽然走廊在理论上显然可以成为促进生物多样性的一种具有成本效益的手段，但其生物效力尚未确定。事实上，生态学家甚至还没有制定出评估走廊有效性的明确方案。这项研究将评估俄勒冈州濒危物种栖息地走廊的有效性，那里的地方政府实际上正在考虑建立走廊。将制定协议，将对动物如何通过栖息地的观察转化为对走廊在保护工作中可能价值的预测。将创建小规模的实验走廊，并将个体移动到不同的栖息地类型(或栖息地类型之间的边缘)，以观察运动行为。

9410874 Kareiva Corridors for animal dispersal are being increasingly examined as a management option for reducing the risk of extinction in threatened species. The idea is that these corridors encourage genetic diversity by the exchange of individuals between different regions, and offer a vehicle for recolonization of local populations that might go extinct due to chance catastrophes. While corridors could clearly in theory be a cost-effective means for promoting biodiversity, their biological efficacy is not established. In fact, ecologists have not even devised a clear protocol for evaluating corridor effectiveness. This research will assess the effectiveness of habitat corridors for a threatened species in Oregon, where in fact local governments are considering establishing corridors. Protocols will be developed for converting observations of how animals move through habitats into predictions about the likely value of corridors in conservation efforts. Small-scale experimental corridors will be created and individuals will be moved into different habitat types (or edges between habitat types) for observations of movement behavior.