Data from: Predicting global population connectivity and targeting conservation action for snow leopard across its range

Movements of individuals within and among populations help to maintain
genetic variability and population viability. Therefore, understanding
landscape connectivity is vital for effective species conservation. The
snow leopard is endemic to mountainous areas of Central Asia and occurs
within 12 countries. We assess potential connectivity across the species’
range to highlight corridors for dispersal and genetic flow between
populations, prioritizing research and conservation action for this
wide-ranging, endangered top-predator. We used resistant kernel modeling
to assess snow leopard population connectivity across its global range. We
developed an expert-based resistance surface that predicted cost of
movement as functions of topographical complexity and land cover. The
distribution of individuals was simulated as a uniform density of points
throughout the currently accepted global range. We modeled population
connectivity from these source points across the resistance surface using
three different dispersal scenarios that likely bracket the lifetime
movements of individual snow leopard: 100km, 500km and 1000km. The
resistant kernel models produced predictive surfaces of dispersal
frequency across the snow leopard range for each distance scenario. We
evaluated the pattern of connectivity in each of these scenarios and
identified potentially important movement corridors and areas where
connectivity might be impeded. The models predicted two regional
populations, in the north and south of the species range respectively, and
revealed a number of potentially important connecting areas. Discrepancies
between model outputs and observations highlight unsurveyed areas of
connected habitat that urgently require surveying to improve understanding
of the global distribution and ecology of snow leopard, and target land
management actions to prevent population isolation. The connectivity maps
provide a strong basis for directed research and conservation action, and
usefully direct the attention of policy makers.