Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Corridors and Species Dispersal

  • Chapter
Applying Landscape Ecology in Biological Conservation

Abstract

After introducing corridor concepts, we explore how those concepts have been applied and whether the applications were effective. Based on empirical data, simulation models, and on-the-ground applications, general principles for developing effective corridors will be presented. In the last two sections, major knowledge gaps and research approaches for filling them are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baranga, J. 1991. Kibale Forest Game Corridor: man or wildlife? In Nature Conservation 2: The Role of Corridors, eds. D.A. Saunders and R.J. Hobbs, pp. 371–375. Chipping Norton, Australia: Surrey Beatty and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baudry, J., and Burel, F. 1984. Landscape project ‘remembrement’: landscape consolidation in France. Landsc. Plan. 11:235–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beier, P. 1995. Dispersal of juvenile cougars in fragmented habitat. J. Wildl. Manage. 59:228–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beier, P., and Noss, R.F. 1998. Do habitat corridors provide connectivity? Conserv. Biol. 12:1241–1252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, A.F. 1999. Linkages in the Landscape: The Role of Corridors and Connectivity in Wildlife Conservation. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, United Kingdom: The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Forest Conservation Programme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benninger-Truax, M., Vankat, J.L., and Schaefer, R.L. 1992. Trail corridors as habitat and conduits for movement of plant species in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Landsc. Ecol. 6:269–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonner, J. 1994. Wildlife’s roads to nowhere? New Scientist 143(1939):30–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bright, P.W., Mitchell, P., and Morris, P.A. 1994. Dormouse distribution: survey techniques, insular ecology and selection of sites for conservation. J. App. Ecol. 31:329–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bright, P.W, and Morris, P.A. 1991. Ranging and nesting behavior of the dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius in diverse low growing woodland. J. Zool. 224:177–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooker, L., Brooker, M., and Cale, P. 1999. Animal dispersal in fragmented habitat: measuring habitat connectivity, corridor use, and dispersal mortality. Conserv. Ecol. [online] 3:4. Available from the Internet: www.consecol.org/vol3/iss1/art4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, D. 1994. Are Habitat Corridors Conduits for Animals and Plants in a Fragmented Landscape? A Review of the Scientific Evidence. English Nature Research Report 9. Peterborough, United Kingdom: English Nature.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. 1995. Forest Management Plan for the East Gippsland Forest Management Area. Melbourne, Australia: Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Desrochers, A., and Hannon, S.J. 1997. Gap crossing decisions by forest songbirds during the post-fledging period. Conserv. Biol. 11:1204–1210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, J.M. 1975. The island dilemma: lessons of modern biogeographic studies for the design of natural reserves. Biol. Conserv. 7:129–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dmowski, K., and Kozakiewicz, M. 1990. Influence of a shrub corridor on movements of passerine birds to a lake littoral zone. Landsc. Ecol. 4:99–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunning, J.B., Stewart, D.J., Danielson, B.J., Noon, B.R., Root, T.L., Lamberson, R.H., and Stevens, E.E. 1995. Spatially explicit population models: current forms and future uses. Ecol. Appl. 5:3–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fahrig, L., and Merriam, G. 1985. Habitat patch connectivity and population survival. Ecology 66:1762–1768.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferris-Kaan, R. 1991. Edge Management in Woodlands. Occasional Paper 28. Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Forestry Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foppen, R.P.B., Bouwma, I.M., Kalkhoven, J.T.R., Dirksen, J., and Van Opstal, S. 2000. Corridors of the Pan-European Ecological Network: Concepts and Examples for Terrestrial and Freshwater Vertebrates. ECNC Technical Report Series. Tilburg, The Netherlands: European Centre for Nature Conservation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forman, R.T.T. 1995. Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grashof-Bokdam, C.J. 1997. Colonization of Forest Plants: The Role of Fragmentation. IBN Scientific Contributions 5. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Institute for Forestry and Nature Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grashof-Bokdam, C.J., Jansen, J., and Smulders, M.J.M. 1998. Dispersal patterns of Lonicera periclymenum determined by genetic analysis. Molec. Ecol. 7:165–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gustafson, E.J., and Gardner, R.H. 1996. The effect of landscape heterogeneity on the probability of patch colonization. Ecology 77:94–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haas, C.M. 1995. Dispersal and use of corridors by birds in wooded patches on an agricultural landscape. Conserv. Biol. 9:845–854.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haddad, N.M. 1999a. Corridor and distance effects on interpatch movements: a landscape experiment with butterflies. Ecol. Appl. 9:612–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haddad, N.M. 1999b. Corridor use predicted from behaviors at habitat boundaries. Am. Nat. 153:215–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, L.D., and Scheck, J. 1991. From implications to applications: the dispersal corridor principle applied to the conservation of biological diversity. In Nature Conservation 2: The Role of Corridors, eds. D.A. Saunders and R.J. Hobbs, pp. 189–220. Chipping Norton, Australia: Surrey Beatty and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hof, J., and Bevers, M. 1998. Spatial Optimization for Managed Ecosystems. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, A.R., Milne, B.T., and Wiens, J.A. 1992a. Diffusion in fractal landscapes: simulations and experimental studies of tenebrionid beetle movements. Ecology 73:1968–1983.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, A.R., Wiens, J.A., Milne, B.T., and Crist, T.O. 1992b. Animal movements and population dynamics in heterogeneous landscapes. Landsc. Ecol. 7:63–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kareiva, P.M., and Shigesada, N. 1983. Analyzing insect movement as a correlated random walk. Oecologia 56:234–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • KubeÅ¡, J. 1996. Biocentres and corridors in a cultural landscape. A critical assessment of the ‘territorial system of ecological stability.’ Landsc. Urban Plan. 35:231–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Land Conservation Council. 1994. Melbourne Area District 2 Reviews. Final Recommendations. Melbourne, Australia: Land Conservation Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Machtans, C.S., Villard, M.-A., and Hannon, S.J. 1996. Use of riparian buffer strips as movement corridors by forest birds. Conserv. Biol. 10:1366–1379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansergh, I.M., and Scotts, D.J. 1989. Habitat continuity and social organization of the mountain pygmy-possum restored by tunnel. J. Wildl. Manage. 53:701–707.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mauritzen, M., Bergers, P.J.M., Andreassen, H.P., Bussink, H., and Barendse, R. 1999. Root vole movement patterns: do ditches function as habitat corridors? J. Appl. Ecol. 36:409–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinnon, J., and De Wulf, R. 1994. Designing protected areas for giant pandas in China. In Mapping the Diversity of Nature, ed. R.I. Miller, pp. 128–142. London: Chapman and Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meagher, T.R., and Thompson, E. 1987. Analysis of parentage for naturally established seedlings of Chamaelirium luteum. Ecology 68:803–812.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merriam, G. 1991. Corridors and connectivity: animal populations in heterogeneous environments. In Nature Conservation 2: The Role of Corridors, eds. D.A. Saunders and R.J. Hobbs, pp. 133–142. Chipping Norton, Australia: Surrey Beatty and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merriam, G., and Lanoue, A. 1990. Corridor use by small mammals: field measurements for three experimental types of Peromyscus leucopus. Landsc. Ecol. 4:123–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Fisheries 1990. Nature Policy Plan (in Dutch). The Hague, The Netherlands: Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Fisheries.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Fisheries 2000. Nature for People and People for Nature (in Dutch). The Hague, The Netherlands: Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Fisheries.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mwalyosi, R.B.B. 1991. Ecological evaluation for wildlife corridors and buffer zones for Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania, and its immediate environment. Biol. Conserv. 57:171–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Donnell, C.F.J. 1991. Application of the wildlife corridors concept to temperate rainforest sites, North Westland, New Zealand. In Nature Conservation 2: The Role of Corridors, eds. D.A. Saunders and R.J. Hobbs, pp. 85–98. Chipping Norton, Australia: Surrey Beatty and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Opdam, P. 1991. Metapopulation theory and habitat fragmentation: a review of Holarctic breeding bird studies. Landsc. Ecol. 5:93–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pahl, L.I., Winter, J.W., and Heinsohn, G. 1988. Variation in responses of arboreal marsupials to fragmentation of tropical rainforest in northeastern Australia. Biol. Conserv. 46:71–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • PyÅ¡ek, P., and Prach, K. 1993. Plant invasions and the role of riparian habitats: a comparison of four species alien to central Europe. J. Biogeog. 20:413–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reijnen, R., and Koolstra, B. 1998. Evaluation of Ecological Corridors in the Province of Gelderland (in Dutch). Report 372. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Institute for Forestry and Nature Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riffeil, S.K., and Gutzwiller, K.J. 1996. Plant-species richness in corridor intersections: is intersection shape influental? Landsc. Ecol. 11:157–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruefenacht, B., and Knight, R.L. 1995. Influences of corridor continuity and width on survival and movement of deermice Peromyscus maniculatus. Biol. Conserv. 71:269–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schippers, P., Verboom, J. Knaapen, J.P., and Van Apeldoorn, R.C. 1996. Dispersal and habitat connectivity in complex heterogeneous landscapes: an analysis with a GIS-based random walk model. Ecography 19:97–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D.S. 1993. Greenway case studies. In Ecology of Greenways: Design and Function of Linear Conservation Areas, eds. D.S. Smith and P.C. Hellmund, pp. 161–208. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soulé, M.E., and Gilpin, M. 1991. The theory of wildlife corridor capability. In Nature Conservation 2: The Role of Corridors, eds. D.A. Saunders and R.J. Hobbs, pp. 3–8. Chipping Norton, Australia: Surrey Beatty and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutcliffe, O.L., and Thomas, C.D. 1996. Open corridors appear to facilitate dispersal by Ringlet Butterflies (Aphantopus hyperantus) between woodland clearings. Conserv. Biol. 10:1359–1365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, P.D., Fahrig, L., Henein, K., and Merriam, G. 1993. Connectivity is a vital element of landscape structure. Oikos 68:571–573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The World Conservation Union. 1995. River Corridors in Hungary: A Strategy for the Conservation of the Nanube and Its Tributaries (1993–94). Gland, Switzerland and Budapest, Hungary: The World Conservation Union.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tischendorf, L., Irmler, U., and Hingst, R. 1998. A simulation experiment on the potential of hedgerows as movement corridors for forest carabids. Ecol. Model. 106:107–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tischendorf, L., and Wissel, C. 1997. Corridors as conduits for small animals: attainable distances depending on movement pattern, boundary reaction and corridor width. Oikos 79:603–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turchin, P. 1998. Quantitative Analysis of Movement: Measuring and Modeling Population Redistribution in Animals and Plants. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dorp, D., Schippers, P., and Van Groenendael, J.M. 1997. Migration rates of grassland plants along corridors in fragmented landscapes assessed with a cellular automaton model. Landsc. Ecol. 12:39–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verboom, B., and Van Apeldoorn, R. 1990. Effects of habitat fragmentation on the red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris L. Landsc. Ecol. 4:171–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vermeulen, H.J.W. 1995. Road-Side Verges: Habitat and Corridor for Carabid Beetles of Poor Sandy and Open Areas. Ph.D. dissertation. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Wageningen Agricultural University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vos, C.C. 1999. A Frog’s-Eye View of the Landscape. Ph.D. dissertation. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Wageningen University and DLO Institute for Forestry and Nature Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vos, C.C., and Stumpel, A.H.P. 1996. Comparison of habitat-isolation parameters in relation to fragmented distribution patterns in the tree frog (Hyla arborea). Landsc. Ecol. 11:203–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vos, C.C., Verboom, J., Opdam, P.F.M., and Ter Braak, CJ.F. 2001. Towards ecologically scaled landscape indices. Am. Nat. 157:24–41.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wauters, L., Casale, P., and Dhondt, A. 1994. Space use and dispersal of red squirrels in fragmented habitats. Oikos 69:140–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wennergren, U., Ruckelshaus, M., and Kareiva, P. 1995. The promise and limitations of spatial models in conservation biology. Oikos 74:349–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiens, J.A. 1997. Metapopulation dynamics and landscape ecology. In Metapopulation Biology: Ecology, Genetics, and Evolution, eds. I.A. Hanski and M.E. Gilpin, pp. 43–68. San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiens, J.A., Schooley, R.L., and Weeks, R.D., Jr. 1997. Patchy landscapes and animal movements: do beetles percolate? Oikos 78:257–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, E.O., and Willis, E.O. 1975. Applied biogeography. In Ecology and Evolution of Communities, eds. M.L. Cody and J.M. Diamond, pp. 522–534. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • With, K.A., Gardner, R.H., and Turner, M.G. 1997. Landscape connectivity and population distribution in heterogeneous environments. Oikos 78:151–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Claire C. Vos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hans Baveco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carla J. Grashof-Bokdam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Baylor University, P.O. Box 97388, Waco, TX, 76798-7388, USA

    Kevin J. Gutzwiller

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Vos, C.C., Baveco, H., Grashof-Bokdam, C.J. (2002). Corridors and Species Dispersal. In: Gutzwiller, K.J. (eds) Applying Landscape Ecology in Biological Conservation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0059-5_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0059-5_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-95322-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0059-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation