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Results for “Movement Ecology”

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At least 721 records · Page 40Linked to original sources
USGS2020

Evidence of post-breeding prospecting in a long-distance migrant.

Organisms assess biotic and abiotic cues at multiple sites when deciding where to settle. However, due to temporal constraints on this prospecting, the suitability of available habitat may be difficult for an individual to assess when cues are most reliable, or at the time they are making settlement decisions. For migratory birds, the postbreeding season may be the optimal time to prospect and inform settlement decisions for future breeding seasons. We investigated the fall movements of flammulated owls ( Psiloscops flammeolus ) within breeding habitat after fledglings had gained independence and before adults left for migration. From 2013 to 2016, we trapped owls within a breeding population wherein all nesting owls and their young have been banded since 1981. We used stable isotopes in combination with mark–recapture data to identify local individuals and differentiate potential prospecting behavior from other seasonal movements such as migration or staging. We commonly captured owls in the fall—predominantly hatch-year owls—that were not known residents of the study area. Several of these nonresident owls were later found breeding within the study area. Stable isotope data suggested a local origin for virtually all owls captured during the fall. Our results suggest that hatch-year flammulated owls, but also some after-hatch-year owls, use the period between the breeding season and fall migration to prospect for future breeding sites. The timing of this behavior is likely driven by seasonally variable costs associated with prospecting. Determining the timing of prospecting and the specific cues that are being assessed will be important in helping predict the extent to which climate change and/or altered disturbance regimes will modify the ecology, behavior, and demographics associated with prospecting.

Colorado↗
USGS2010

A rapid, strong, and convergent genetic response to urban habitat fragmentation in four divergent and widespread vertebrates

Background: Urbanization is a major cause of habitat fragmentation worldwide. Ecological and conservation theory predicts many potential impacts of habitat fragmentation on natural populations, including genetic impacts. Habitat fragmentation by urbanization causes populations of animals and plants to be isolated in patches of suitable habitat that are surrounded by non-native vegetation or severely altered vegetation, asphalt, concrete, and human structures. This can lead to genetic divergence between patches and in turn to decreased genetic diversity within patches through genetic drift and inbreeding. Methodology/Principal Findings: We examined population genetic patterns using microsatellites in four common vertebrate species, three lizards and one bird, in highly fragmented urban southern California. Despite significant phylogenetic, ecological, and mobility differences between these species, all four showed similar and significant reductions in gene flow over relatively short geographic and temporal scales. For all four species, the greatest genetic divergence was found where development was oldest and most intensive. All four animals also showed significant reduction in gene flow associated with intervening roads and freeways, the degree of patch isolation, and the time since isolation. Conclusions/Significance: Despite wide acceptance of the idea in principle, evidence of significant population genetic changes associated with fragmentation at small spatial and temporal scales has been rare, even in smaller terrestrial vertebrates, and especially for birds. Given the striking pattern of similar and rapid effects across four common and widespread species, including a volant bird, intense urbanization may represent the most severe form of fragmentation, with minimal effective movement through the urban matrix.

California↗
USGS2025

Sensitive environmental DNA methods for low-risk surveillance of at-risk bumble bees

Terrestrial environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques have been proposed as a means of sensitive, non-lethal pollinator monitoring. To date, however, no studies have provided evidence that eDNA methods can achieve detection sensitivity on par with traditional pollinator surveys. Using a large-scale dataset of eDNA and corresponding net surveys, we show that eDNA methods enable sensitive, species-level characterisation of whole bumble bee communities, including rare and critically endangered species such as the rusty patched bumble bee (RPBB; Bombus affinis ). All species present in netting surveys were detected within eDNA surveys, apart from two rare species in the socially parasitic subgenus Psithyrus (cuckoo bumble bees). Further, for rare non-parasitic species, eDNA methods exhibited similar sensitivity relative to traditional netting. Compared with flower eDNA samples, sequenced leaf surface eDNA samples resulted in significantly lower rates of Bombus detection, and these detections were likely attributable to high rates of background eDNA on environmental surfaces, perhaps due to airborne eDNA or eDNA movement during rainfall events. Lastly, we found that eDNA-based frequency of detection across replicate surveys was strongly associated with net-based measures of abundance across site visits. We conclude that the COI-based metabarcoding method we present is cost-effective and highly scalable for quantitative characterisation of at-risk bumble bee communities, providing a new approach for improving our understanding of species habitat associations.

Central Appalachian Mountains↗
USGS2014

Combining demographic and genetic factors to assess population vulnerability in stream species

Accelerating climate change and other cumulative stressors create an urgent need to understand the influence of environmental variation and landscape features on the connectivity and vulnerability of freshwater species. Here, we introduce a novel modeling framework for aquatic systems that integrates spatially explicit, individual‐based, demographic and genetic (demogenetic) assessments with environmental variables. To show its potential utility, we simulated a hypothetical network of 19 migratory riverine populations (e.g., salmonids) using a riverscape connectivity and demogenetic model (CDFISH). We assessed how stream resistance to movement (a function of water temperature, fluvial distance, and physical barriers) might influence demogenetic connectivity, and hence, population vulnerability. We present demographic metrics (abundance, immigration, and change in abundance) and genetic metrics (diversity, differentiation, and change in differentiation), and combine them into a single vulnerability index for identifying populations at risk of extirpation. We considered four realistic scenarios that illustrate the relative sensitivity of these metrics for early detection of reduced connectivity: (1) maximum resistance due to high water temperatures throughout the network, (2) minimum resistance due to low water temperatures throughout the network, (3) increased resistance at a tributary junction caused by a partial barrier, and (4) complete isolation of a tributary, leaving resident individuals only. We then applied this demogenetic framework using empirical data for a bull trout ( Salvelinus confluentus ) metapopulation in the upper Flathead River system, Canada and USA, to assess how current and predicted future stream warming may influence population vulnerability. Results suggest that warmer water temperatures and associated barriers to movement (e.g., low flows, dewatering) are predicted to fragment suitable habitat for migratory salmonids, resulting in the loss of genetic diversity and reduced numbers in certain vulnerable populations. This demogenetic simulation framework, which is illustrated in a web‐based interactive mapping prototype, should be useful for evaluating population vulnerability in a wide variety of dendritic and fragmented riverscapes, helping to guide conservation and management efforts for freshwater species.

Montana↗
USGS2001

Discharge between San Antonio Bay and Aransas Bay, southern Gulf Coast, Texas, May-September 1999

Along the Gulf Coast of Texas, many estuaries and bays are important habitat and nurseries for aquatic life. San Antonio Bay and Aransas Bay, located about 50 and 30 miles northeast, respectively, of Corpus Christi, are two important estuarine nurseries on the southern Gulf Coast of Texas (fig. 1). According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, “Almost 80 percent of the seagrasses [along the Texas Gulf Coast] are located in the Laguna Madre, an estuary that begins just south of Corpus Christi Bay and runs southward 140 miles to South Padre Island. Most of the remaining seagrasses, about 45,000 acres, are located in the heavily traveled San Antonio, Aransas and Corpus Christi Bay areas” (Shook, 2000). Population growth has led to greater demands on water supplies in Texas. The Texas Water Development Board, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission have the cooperative task of determining inflows required to maintain the ecological health of the State’s streams, rivers, bays, and estuaries. To determine these inflow requirements, the three agencies collect data and conduct studies on the need for instream flows and freshwater/ saline water inflows to Texas estuaries. To assist in the determination of freshwater inflow requirements, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board, conducted a hydrographic survey of discharge (flow) between San Antonio Bay and Aransas Bay during the period May–September 1999. Automated instrumentation and acoustic technology were used to maximize the amount and quality of data that were collected, while minimizing personnel requirements. This report documents the discharge measured at two sites between the bays during May–September 1999 and describes the influences of meteorologic (wind and tidal) and hydrologic (freshwater inflow) conditions on discharge between the two bays. The movement of water between the bays is controlled primarily by prevailing winds, tidal fluctuations, and freshwater inflows. An adequate understanding of mixing and physical exchange in the estuarine waters is fundamental to the assessment of the physical, chemical, and biological processes governing the aquatic system.

Texas↗
USGS1983

Wolf pack spacing: Howling as a territory-independent spacing mechanism in a territorial population

Howling is a principle means of spacing in wolf populations. The relationship between a pack's responses to howling (replies, movements) and its location within its home range, was studied using human-simulated howling in a territorial population in northeastern Minnesota. The results indicated the responses were independent of the pack's location, or the locations of the pack and playback relation to the territory center. These results indicate that howling serves as a territory-independent spacing mechanism, that will result in the use of exclusive territories when coupled with strong, year-round site attachment, but with floating, exclusive, buffer-areas about migratory packs.

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology↗
USGS2013

Movements, cover-type selection, and survival of fledgling Ovenbirds in managed deciduous and mixed coniferous-deciduous forests

We used radio telemetry to monitor movements, cover-type selection, and survival for fledglings of the mature-forest nesting Ovenbird ( Seiurus aurocapilla ) at two managed forest sites in north-central Minnesota. Both sites contained forested wetlands, regenerating clearcut stands of various ages, and logging roads, but differed in mature forest composition; one deciduous with open understory, and the other mixed coniferous-deciduous with dense understory. We used compositional analysis, modified to incorporate age-specific limitations in fledgling movements, to assess cover-type selection by fledglings throughout the dependent (on adult care) post-fledging period. Compared to those that were depredated, fledglings from nests in deciduous forest that survived the early post-fledging period had more older (sapling-dominated) clearcut available, directed movements toward older clearcuts and forested wetlands, and used older clearcuts more than other cover types relative to availability. Fledglings that were depredated had more young (shrub-dominated) clearcut and unpaved logging road available, and used mature forest and roads more than expected based on availability. For birds from nests in mixed mature forest with dense understory, movements and cover-type selection were similar between fledglings that survived and those that were depredated. However, fledglings that were depredated at that site also had more young clearcut available than fledglings that survived. We conclude that Ovenbird fledgling survival is influenced by distance of their nest to various non-nesting cover types, and by the subsequent selection among those cover types, but that the influence of non-nesting cover types varies depending on the availability of dense understory vegetation in mature forest.

Minnesota↗
USGS2020

Behavioral responses of sea lamprey to varying application rates of a synthesized pheromone in diverse trapping scenarios

Use of the first fish pheromone biopesticide, 3-keto petromyzonol sulfate (3kPZS) in sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ) control requires an understanding of both how the amount 3kPZS applied to a trap relates to catch, and how that relationship varies among stream types. By conducting 3kPZS dose-response experiments over two years and across six varied trapping contexts, we conclude (1) that 3kPZS application is best standardized by how much is emitted from the trap instead of the fully mixed concentration achieved downstream, and (2) that 3kPZS is more effective in wide streams (>30 m). In wide streams, emission of 3kPZS at 50 mg hr. −1 from the trap increased capture rate by 10–15% as sea lamprey were 25–50% more likely to enter the trap after encounter. However, in narrow streams (< 15 m), 50 mg hr. −1 3kPZS generally reduced probabilities of upstream movement, trap encounter, and entrance. While 3kPZS significantly influenced upstream movement, encounter, and capture probabilities, these behaviors were also highly influenced by water temperature, stream width, sea lamprey length, and sex. This study highlights that a pheromone component in a stream environment does not ubiquitously increase trap catch in all contexts, but that where, how, and when the pheromone is applied has major impacts on whether it benefits or hinders trapping efforts.

Journal of Chemical Ecology↗
USGS2021

Human activities and weather drive contact rates of wintering elk

Wildlife aggregation patterns can influence disease transmission. However, limited research evaluates the influence of anthropogenic and natural factors on aggregation. Many managers would like to reduce wildlife contact rates, driven by aggregation, to limit disease transmission. We develop a novel analytical framework to quantify how management activities such as supplemental feeding and hunting versus weather drive contact rates while accounting for correlated contacts. We apply the framework to the National Elk Refuge (NER), Wyoming, USA, where the probable arrival of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has magnified concerns. We used a daily proximity index to measure contact rates among 68 global positioning system collared elk from 2016 to 2019. We modelled contact rates as a function of abiotic weather‐related effects, anthropogenic effects and aggregation from the prior day. The winter of 2017–2018 had greater natural forage availability and little snow, which led to a rare non‐feeding year on the NER and provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the effect of feeding on contact rates relative to other conditions. Supplemental feeding was the strongest predictor of aggregation, and contact rates were 2.6 times larger while feeding occurred compared to the baseline rate (0.34 and 0.13, respectively). Snow‐covered area was the second strongest predictor of contact rates highlighting the importance of abiotic factors to elk aggregation, but this effect had half the strength of feeding. These results are the first to show, even in animals that congregate naturally, how greatly supplemental feeding amplifies aggregation. Contact rates were also 23% lower during times when elk hunting was active (0.10) compared to the baseline. Synthesis and applications . Supplemental feeding increased contacts between elk well above the natural effects of weather, even after accounting for correlated movement expected in wintering ungulates. Similarly, differences in hunting season timing with adjacent areas led to an increase in contacts, suggesting an additional management option for reducing aggregation. The analytical framework presented supports the evaluation of temporally varying management actions that influence aggregation broadly and can be easily implemented whether the interest in changing aggregation is related to reduction of disease transmission, human–wildlife conflict or inter‐species competition.

Wyoming↗
USGS2019

Spatial memory shapes migration and its benefits: Evidence from a large herbivore

From fine-scale foraging to broad-scale migration, animal movement is shaped by the distribution of resources. There is mounting evidence, however, that learning and memory also guide movement. Although migratory mammals commonly track resource waves, how resource tracking and memory guide long-distance migration has not been reconciled. We examined these hypotheses using movement data from four populations of migratory mule deer ( n = 91). Spatial memory had an extraordinary influence on migration, affecting movement 2–28 times more strongly than tracking spring green-up or autumn snow depth. Importantly, with only an ability to track resources, simulated deer were unable to recreate empirical migratory routes. In contrast, simulated deer with memory of empirical routes used those routes and obtained higher foraging benefits. For migratory terrestrial mammals, spatial memory provides knowledge of where seasonal ranges and migratory routes exist, whereas resource tracking determines when to beneficially move within those areas.

Colorado, Wyoming↗
USGS2009

Hierarchical models for estimating density from DNA mark-recapture studies

Genetic sampling is increasingly used as a tool by wildlife biologists and managers to estimate abundance and density of species. Typically, DNA is used to identify individuals captured in an array of traps ( e. g., baited hair snares) from which individual encounter histories are derived. Standard methods for estimating the size of a closed population can be applied to such data. However, due to the movement of individuals on and off the trapping array during sampling, the area over which individuals are exposed to trapping is unknown, and so obtaining unbiased estimates of density has proved difficult. We propose a hierarchical spatial capture-recapture model which contains explicit models for the spatial point process governing the distribution of individuals and their exposure to (via movement) and detection by traps. Detection probability is modeled as a function of each individual's distance to the trap. We applied this model to a black bear (Ursus americanus) study conducted in 2006 using a hair-snare trap array in the Adirondack region of New York, USA. We estimated the density of bears to be 0.159 bears/km2, which is lower than the estimated density (0.410 bears/km2) based on standard closed population techniques. A Bayesian analysis of the model is fully implemented in the software program WinBUGS.

Ecology↗
USGS2013

Estimating animal resource selection from telemetry data using point process models

Analyses of animal resource selection functions (RSF) using data collected from relocations of individuals via remote telemetry devices have become commonplace. Increasing technological advances, however, have produced statistical challenges in analysing such highly autocorrelated data. Weighted distribution methods have been proposed for analysing RSFs with telemetry data. However, they can be computationally challenging due to an intractable normalizing constant and cannot be aggregated (i.e. collapsed) over time to make space-only inference. In this study, we take a conceptually different approach to modelling animal telemetry data for making RSF inference. We consider the telemetry data to be a realization of a space–time point process. Under the point process paradigm, the times of the relocations are also considered to be random rather than fixed. We show the point process models we propose are a generalization of the weighted distribution telemetry models. By generalizing the weighted model, we can access several numerical techniques for evaluating point process likelihoods that make use of common statistical software. Thus, the analysis methods can be readily implemented by animal ecologists. In addition to ease of computation, the point process models can be aggregated over time by marginalizing over the temporal component of the model. This allows a full range of models to be constructed for RSF analysis at the individual movement level up to the study area level. To demonstrate the analysis of telemetry data with the point process approach, we analysed a data set of telemetry locations from northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Both a space–time and an aggregated space-only model were fitted. At the individual level, the space–time analysis showed little selection relative to the habitat covariates. However, at the study area level, the space-only model showed strong selection relative to the covariates.

Alaska↗
USGS2022

Mismatch between temperature and discharge disrupts spawning cues in a fluvial specialist, blue sucker Cycleptus elongatus

Seasonal movements cued by environmental variables are a critical component of riverine fish life history. Life-history events for species such as blue sucker Cycleptus elongatus are likely cued by discharge and temperature and may be disrupted if those life-history events and environmental regimes are mismatched. However, this effect may be dependent upon the habitat occupied when environmental cues are received by individuals. We tracked telemetered blue sucker in the Colorado River, Texas, USA, from 2015 to 2017 and modelled the relative effects of discharge, temperature and habitat structure on seasonal movement patterns. Tagged fish varied in their propensity to move, although most returned to their original tagging locations. Decreasing temperatures and increasing discharge resulted in increased seasonal movements. Temperature and discharge had the largest effect on movement behaviour, but the magnitude of movements was largely dependent on the year. Temperatures between 12 and 19°C and discharges between 10 and 240 m 3 s −1 resulted in greater probabilities of spawning movements. Spawning was most probable in 2015 and reduced or halted in 2016 and 2017. Future climate scenarios suggest North America will experience increased drought, warmer temperatures and more variable weather patterns. These future scenarios could negatively impact blue sucker by disrupting environmental cues and habitat availability for seasonal life-history events. Our results suggest temperature and discharge are critical cues for the species, but that their combined effect is largely dependent on the occupied habitat.

Texas↗
USGS2018

Adaptive population divergence and directional gene flow across steep elevational gradients in a climate‐sensitive mammal

The American pika is a thermally sensitive, alpine lagomorph species. Recent climate-associated population extirpations and genetic signatures of reduced population sizes range-wide indicate the viability of this species is sensitive to climate change. To test for potential adaptive responses to climate stress, we sampled pikas along two elevational gradients (each ~470 to 1640 m) and employed three outlier detection methods, BAYESCAN, LFMM, and BAYPASS, to scan for genotype-environment associations in samples genotyped at 30,763 SNP loci. We resolved 173 loci with robust evidence of natural selection detected by either two independent analyses or replicated in both transects. A BLASTN search of these outlier loci revealed several genes associated with metabolic function and oxygen transport, indicating natural selection from thermal stress and hypoxia. We also found evidence of directional gene flow primarily downslope from large high-elevation populations and reduced gene flow at outlier loci, a pattern suggesting potential impediments to the upward elevational movement of adaptive alleles in response to contemporary climate change. Finally, we documented evidence of reduced genetic diversity associated the south-facing transect and an increase in corticosterone stress levels associated with inbreeding. This study suggests the American pika is already undergoing climate-associated natural selection at multiple genomic regions. Further analysis is needed to determine if the rate of climate adaptation in the American pika and other thermally sensitive species will be able to keep pace with rapidly changing climate conditions.

Washington↗
USGS2014

Continental-scale, seasonal movements of a heterothermic migratory tree bat

Long-distance migration evolved independently in bats and unique migration behaviors are likely, but because of their cryptic lifestyles, many details remain unknown. North American hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus cinereus) roost in trees year-round and probably migrate farther than any other bats, yet we still lack basic information about their migration patterns and wintering locations or strategies. This information is needed to better understand unprecedented fatality of hoary bats at wind turbines during autumn migration and to determine whether the species could be susceptible to an emerging disease affecting hibernating bats. Our aim was to infer probable seasonal movements of individual hoary bats to better understand their migration and seasonal distribution in North America. We analyzed the stable isotope values of non-exchangeable hydrogen in the keratin of bat hair and combined isotopic results with prior distributional information to derive relative probability density surfaces for the geographic origins of individuals. We then mapped probable directions and distances of seasonal movement. Results indicate that hoary bats summer across broad areas. In addition to assumed latitudinal migration, we uncovered evidence of longitudinal movement by hoary bats from inland summering grounds to coastal regions during autumn and winter. Coastal regions with nonfreezing temperatures may be important wintering areas for hoary bats. Hoary bats migrating through any particular area, such as a wind turbine facility in autumn, are likely to have originated from a broad expanse of summering grounds from which they have traveled in no recognizable order. Better characterizing migration patterns and wintering behaviors of hoary bats sheds light on the evolution of migration and provides context for conserving these migrants.

Ecological Applications↗
USGS2013

Review: groundwater in Alaska (USA)

Groundwater in the US state of Alaska is critical to both humans and ecosystems. Interactions among physiography, ecology, geology, and current and past climate have largely determined the location and properties of aquifers as well as the timing and magnitude of fluxes to, from, and within the groundwater system. The climate ranges from maritime in the southern portion of the state to continental in the Interior, and arctic on the North Slope. During the Quaternary period, topography and rock type have combined with glacial and periglacial processes to develop the unconsolidated alluvial aquifers of Alaska and have resulted in highly heterogeneous hydrofacies. In addition, the long persistence of frozen ground, whether seasonal or permanent, greatly affects the distribution of aquifer recharge and discharge. Because of high runoff, a high proportion of groundwater use, and highly variable permeability controlled in part by permafrost and seasonally frozen ground, understanding groundwater/surface-water interactions and the effects of climate change is critical for understanding groundwater availability and the movement of natural and anthropogenic contaminants.

Alaska↗
USGS2018

Golden Eagle Monitoring Plan for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan

This report describes options for monitoring the status and population trends of the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) within the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) area of Southern California in maintaining stable or increasing population in the planning area. The report profiles the ecology of golden eagles in the region and provides a range of potential sampling options to address monitoring needs and objectives. This approach also focused on links between changes in human land-use, golden eagle nesting and foraging habitat conditions, and population dynamics. The report outlines how monitoring data from demographic, prey, and habitat studies were used to develop a predictive demographic model for golden eagles in the DRECP area. Results from the model simulations suggest increases in renewable energy development could have negative consequences for population trajectories. Results also suggest site-specific conservation actions could reduce the magnitude of negative impacts to the local population of eagles. A monitoring framework is proposed including: (1) annual assessments of site-occupancy and reproduction by territorial pairs of golden eagles (including rates at which sites become colonized or vacated over time); (2) estimates of survival, movements, and intensity of use of landscapes by breeding and non-breeding golden eagles; (3) periodic (conducted every two to four years) assessments of nesting and foraging habitats, prey populations, and associations with land-use and management activities; and (4) updating the predictive demographic model with new information obtained on eagles and associated population stressors. The results of this research were published in the Journal of Rapture Research, Wiens, David,Inman, Rich D., Esque, Todd C., Longshore, Kathleen M. and Nussear, Kenneth (2017). Spatial Demographic Models to Inform Conservation Planning of Golden Eagles in Renewable Energy Landscapes. 51(3):234-257.

Report↗
USGS2026

Conflicts and collisions with an endangered carnivore: Landscape drivers and spatial risk pattern

Human–wildlife conflicts and anthropogenic mortality are expected to increase with the continuous encroachment on natural habitats within and around protected areas, yet the processes governing these risks remain poorly understood. We investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics and drivers of two distinct processes involving the endangered Florida panther ( Puma concolor coryi ; hereafter, panther): (1) direct human–panther interactions and livestock depredation (hereafter, conflicts), and (2) vehicle collisions (hereafter, collisions). Using long-term data collected between 2006 and 2022 within the panther's breeding range in Southwest Florida, USA, we applied dynamic occupancy models to estimate probabilities of occurrence, colonization, and extinction of conflicts and collisions while accounting for imperfect detection. A total of 277 conflicts and 239 collisions were recorded during the study period. Occurrence probabilities for both conflicts and collisions increased during the early years of the study and subsequently stabilized. Landscape configuration consistently showed strong associations with both processes. Conflicts were more likely in areas with fragmented but closely spaced habitat patches, whereas collisions were more likely along road segments characterized by connected landscapes with low resistance to panther movement. In contrast, areas that showed greater distances between habitat patches and increased proportions of protected area were associated with lower probabilities of conflict or collision persistence over time. A predictive map was created to highlight areas with high probability of conflict and road segments with high probability of collision in Southwest Florida, USA. Identifying areas with elevated risk can inform targeted mitigation strategies, including habitat management, wildlife crossings, and outreach efforts, and further support long-term coexistence between humans and large carnivore populations.

Florida↗