Wildlife Connectivity in California's Central Coast Region

Background

Wildlife connectivity refers to the ability of wildlife to move between different habitat patches in a landscape. Landscapes become fragmented when natural land is converted to agriculture or human development, potentially isolating wildlife populations in remaining habitat patches if connectivity is not maintained. Artificial barriers such as roads or fences can also prevent wildlife from safely moving through the landscape.

Connectivity serves a number of purposes for wildlife. Individuals may need to travel between patches to establish breeding territories or find suitable food and shelter. Isolated habitat patches may not be large enough to support viable populations of certain species, potentially leading to local extinction. Isolated populations may also experience higher rates of inbreeding, leading to a lack of genetic diversity and threatening the long-term survival of the population