Functional connectivity of the biological corridors of Costa Rica for wild mammals with some degree of vulnerability
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| Autore: | |
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| Natura: | artículo original |
| Status: | Versión publicada |
| Data di pubblicazione: | 2025 |
| Descrizione: | Introduction: Fragmentation refers to the loss of continuous natural vegetation, creating isolated patches that alter landscape structure and biodiversity. Combining structural connectivity indices with species occupancy data improves understanding of population dynamics. Functional connectivity reflects an organism’s ability to move and persist but is challenging to measure due to ecological complexity. Objective: To propose an alternative approach for assessing biological corridors and functional connectivity for wild mammals in Costa Rica. Methods: From 2021 to 2024, I analyzed forest fragmentation and species occupancy across 51 biological corridors in Costa Rica using GIS and citizen science data. Functional connectivity was measured as the standardized ratio of fragmentation to occupancy, ranging from 0 (sporadic) to 1 (fully functional). Results: Fragmentation was highest in interurban corridors, while Nosara River, Aquifers, Los Santos, and Central-Talamanca showed the least. The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) exhibited near-complete connectivity in the Aquifers corridor (ICFR = 0,98), followed by the squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii) in Los Santos (ICFR = 0,69). Conclusion: While some corridors show high functional connectivity for select species, most exhibit limited connectivity. This reflects partial fragmentation and the use of corridors as components of broader home ranges in recovering and heterogeneous ecosystems. |
| Stato: | Portal de Revistas UNED |
| Istituzione: | Universidad Estatal a Distancia |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UNED |
| Lingua: | Español |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:revistas.investiga.uned.ac.cr:article/5706 |
| Accesso online: | https://revistas.uned.ac.cr/index.php/cuadernos/article/view/5706 |
| Keyword: | felinos primates fragmentación Kernel probabilidad ocupación felines fragmentation probability occupation |