Canada ranks third worldwide in permeable landscapes for wildlife & More News Here

Science, Health & Technology

Jun 2, 2022    |   For extra data, contact Alex Walls

Canada ranks third in the world for animal motion between protected areas, finds new UBC analysis.

Researchers created the primary international map of the place mammals are almost certainly to maneuver between protected areas, equivalent to nationwide parks and nature reserves. Lead creator Dr. Angela Brennan, a analysis affiliate on the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, says she hopes the information will assist nations measure their success at defending biodiversity over time.

Canada has many areas which might be vital to animal motion, and due to this fact biodiversity, together with the Yukon to Yellowstone hall, and from the Coastal Mountains in B.C. to the North Cascade mountains in the United States. “Animals need to be able to move to find food, water, and mates, to maintain those vitally important flows of genes and other ecological processes across our landscapes,” says Dr. Brennan. “Without connectivity—when animal movement is blocked—animal populations become isolated and these flows can stop, putting species and habitats at risk.”

Living in concord with wild animals

Led by researchers from UBC, World Wildlife Fund (U.S.) and the University of Colorado, Boulder, the research projected that decreasing the human footprint would assist mammals transfer extra freely between protected areas. Measured in phrases of things equivalent to inhabitants density, roads, and night time lights, excessive levels of human footprint can block or stop animal motion, says Dr. Brennan. “It’s like water flowing through sand: if there are many things in the way of the water, like piles of debris, the water’s flow can become blocked. So if you reduce the size of the debris or make and maintain openings, more water can flow through. In the same way, we can reduce human factors that block animal movement, and make our landscapes more permeable for wildlife.”

The researchers projected that decreasing this human footprint by half would improve the potential for mammals to maneuver extra freely between protected areas by 28 per cent. If each the human footprint was lowered, and the dimensions of protected areas was elevated, connectivity would enhance even additional, by 43 per cent.

But how people can virtually cut back their footprint to permit animals to maneuver extra freely is the ‘million-dollar question’, says senior creator Dr. Claire Kremen (she/her), professor in the division of zoology and the Institute of Resources, Environment and Sustainability. “Part of this could be things like, instead of a solid corridor of trees that links two areas, there could be lots of little patches between the two, creating stepping stones. In some regions of the world, farmers manage livestock by using trees as living fences or combine trees with crops. These techniques would mean more habitat, more hiding places, and more ways animals can move between areas.”

Just eradicating fences, or creating under- or over-passes for sure animals, equivalent to Banff’s wildlife overpasses, are additionally doable options, says Dr. Brennan. As for the potential risks posed by encouraging bears to walk by means of Banff, enhancing connectivity can truly reroute animals away from people into areas the place they’ll transfer extra safely, she says.

Pinch factors to guard

The researchers used information from a beforehand printed international research of mammal motion to map the world’s vital areas for connectivity. They then used GPS information from animals’ collars to confirm that animal motion matched with their projections.

The researchers additionally checked out vital areas, the place the move of animal motion is especially vital to take care of, representing round 10 per cent of the world’s land. About two-thirds of those had been outdoors of nationwide parks or different forms of protected areas and round 23 per cent had been each unprotected and occurred on land appropriate for future agricultural use. “We need to keep our eyes on these ‘pinch points’ as changes to the land or its use in these sensitive and small regions could have outsized effects on animal movement, and so, on the survival of these species,” says Dr. Kremen.

Seventy per cent of those vital areas to the move of animal motion overlap with locations already recognized as being helpful to biodiversity, highlighting areas of synergy for conserving wildlife, says Dr. Brennan. “If we aim our conservation efforts where we can have multiple benefits – like conserving connectivity and endemic species – we can maximize the use of our conservation dollars.”

Interview language(s): English (Brennan, Kremen)

Images and b-roll for media: www.bit.ly/Animalmovement

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