Edmonton Journal

Landscape connectivi­ty key to biodiversi­ty: study

Genetic material must be allowed to move over vast distances, researcher­s say

- TIFFANY CRAWFORD ticrawford@postmedia.com

University of B.C. researcher­s have mapped out how mammals are moving through human landscapes as part of a global effort to assess the biodiversi­ty crisis.

The study, published in the journal Science on Thursday, looks at each country's connecting protected areas, which are created to give animals space to roam across vast landscapes. They concluded that connectivi­ty is needed to prevent species loss in many areas of the world.

However they found Canada, which has the second-largest area of wilderness after Russia, is the third-most-connected country for mammal movement.

This is mainly because of Canada's North though, which still has vast areas of animal movement, according to the study's lead author, Angela Brennan, a conservati­on scientist at UBC and a fellow with the World Wildlife Fund.

“The vast majority of protected areas and the animals they contain are embedded in human landscapes. So, if animal movement is restricted between protected areas, that can result in blocking the flow of genes and blocking their access to important resources that they need,” said Brennan. “And that can exacerbate the biodiversi­ty problems that we're having.”

In Canada, some of the species of mammals in need of connectivi­ty conservati­on include elk, grizzly bears and caribou, according to the report.

Using data from the World Database on Protected Areas, the researcher­s created a protected area isolation metric, which measures the average animal isolation in national networks of protected areas. Each country was given a value that indicates a higher or lower degree of isolation on average.

Brennan said even though Canada rates well in terms of connectivi­ty, there are still areas that have been identified as critical, such as the Yellowston­e to Yukon corridor and the Coastal Mountain Range from B.C. to Washington state.

“These areas are critical for maintainin­g connectivi­ty in North America,” said Brennan.

Some of the least connected countries for animal movement are Lebanon, Puerto Rico and Haiti, according to the study. Other countries that are in the top five per cent for having the most connecting protected areas include Greenland, Guyana, Egypt and Iceland.

Reducing the human footprint would help mammals move more freely between these areas, the report found. Solutions could include living fences, habitat stepping-stones and special overpasses.

“Having connected landscapes ensures that animals can move to access food, water and mates. And so, it ensures the flow of genes across landscapes, which is needed for healthy ecosystems,” said Brennan.

Researcher­s found that 50 out of the world's 846 ecoregions have the greatest potential to protect biodiversi­ty, but many of these areas are also unprotecte­d.

They also examined the proportion of critical connectivi­ty areas that overlap with the Global Safety Net, a proposed global conservati­on scheme that identifies new priority areas for expanded protection. They found about 71 per cent of unprotecte­d critical connectivi­ty areas, including most of those suitable for future agricultur­al expansion, overlap with these Global Safety Net priority areas.

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