Landscape connectivity for wildlife in a changing environment

景观变化可以说是对本地物种和全球生态系统完整性的最大威胁之一。当景观变化改变景观的结构连通性时，它可以通过促进、阻碍或阻止运动来影响动物的运动模式。因此，失去连通性可能会在不同的空间和时间尺度上对动物空间的使用、基因流动和适应能力产生巨大和不同的影响。我的研究项目包括测试关于景观连通性如何影响所有组织级别的生态系统的假设。我的短期目标是：1)量化景观连通性作为动物运动的驱动力的作用；2)评估连通性丧失对野生动物运动和行为的影响；3)评估公园和保护区网络在不断变化的景观中保持连通性的有效性。具体地说，我们将评估景观连通性在塑造野生动物范围扩大和收缩方面的作用。我们还将评估光污染如何影响全球和局部规模的夜景和动物运动模式的连通性。我们将绘制“黑暗走廊”的地图，并测试由光污染造成的黑暗走廊的空间分布是否会影响夜间迁徙鸟类的迁徙路径。我们还将测试光污染延长野生动物活动期、增加死亡率从而降低适合度的假设。最后，我们将评估在面临景观和气候变化的情况下，土地利用变化如何影响北美保护区网络的连通性。我和我的团队将使用横跨大空间和时间尺度的数据集的横向方法来解决连通性保护领域中出现的这些问题。增加功能连接可能是我们拥有的最重要的工具，使物种能够穿越因土地覆盖和气候变化而日益变化的景观。我的研究计划旨在通过经验数据和预测模型为连通性科学做出贡献，并将对理论和应用保护和政策产生影响。

Landscape change is arguably one of the greatest threats to native species and the integrity of ecosystems globally. When landscape change alters structural connectivity of the landscape, it can affect animal movement patterns by promoting, impeding, or preventing movement. Loss of connectivity, therefore, can have large and varied impacts on animal space use, gene flow, and fitness at various spatial and temporal scales. My research program involves testing hypotheses about how landscape connectivity influences ecosystems across all levels of organization. My shorter-term objectives are to: 1) quantify the role of landscape connectivity as a driver of animal movement; 2) evaluate the consequences of connectivity loss for wildlife movement and behaviour; and 3) assess the effectiveness of parks and protected area networks for preserving connectivity in a changing landscape. Specifically, we will evaluate the role of landscape connectivity in shaping wildlife range expansion and contraction. We will also evaluate how light pollution impacts connectivity of the nightscape and animal movement patterns at both global and local scales. We will map `corridors of darkness' and test whether the spatial distribution of dark corridors caused by light pollution influences migration paths of nocturnally migrating bird species. We will also test the hypothesis that light pollution lengthens the active period of wildlife, increasing mortality and thus decreasing fitness. Finally, we will assess how land use change has affected connectivity of protected area networks in North America in the face of landscape and climate change. My team and I will use a landscape-scale approach with datasets that span large spatial and temporal scales to address these emerging questions in the field of connectivity conservation. Increasing functional connectivity is perhaps the most important tool we have for enabling species to traverse landscapes that are becoming increasingly altered by changes in landcover and climate. My research program is designed to make contributions to connectivity science through empirical data and predictive models and will have impacts for theoretical and applied conservation and policy.