Bound within boundaries: How well do protected areas match movement corridors of their most mobile protected species?

Conserving and managing large portions of land to connect wildlife reserves is an increasingly used strategy to maintain and restore connectivity among wildlife populations. Boundaries of such conservation areas are often determined based on expert opinion and socio-political constraints, yet the extent to which they match species’ movement corridors is rarely examined. This is mainly due to a lack of data, particularly on wide-ranging movement behavior such as dispersal. Nevertheless, empirically assessing the adequacy of protected areas is key for the implementation of targeted management actions and efficient use of limited conservation funds. Between 2011 and 2019, we collected high-resolution GPS data on 16 dispersing African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) coalitions from a free-ranging population in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA). Spanning five countries and 520’000 km2 the KAZA-TFCA is the world’s largest transboundary conservation area and a prime exam...

保护和管理大片土地以连接野生动物保护区，是维持和恢复野生动物种群间连通性的一种日益常用的策略。此类保护区的边界通常基于专家意见和社会政治约束条件确定，但它们与物种移动廊道（movement corridors）的匹配程度却鲜有研究。这主要是由于缺乏数据，尤其是关于扩散（dispersal）等大范围移动行为的数据。然而，实证评估保护区的适宜性是实施针对性管理措施和高效利用有限保护资金的关键。2011年至2019年间，我们从卡万戈-赞比西河跨境保护区（KAZA-TFCA）的自由活动种群中，收集了16个扩散中的非洲野犬（Lycaon pictus）群体的高分辨率GPS数据。KAZA-TFCA横跨五个国家，面积达52万平方公里，是世界上最大的跨境保护区，也是一个重要的例...