High habitat potential but limited connectivity for brown bears throughout Europe

Large carnivores worldwide have experienced substantial range contractions due to human activities. Using an ensemble species distribution model and occurrence data from all European brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations, we assessed current and potential bear habitat as well as habitat connectivity. Habitat suitability was strongly associated with low human development, high forest cover, and proximity to forest. Of our entire study area, 37% (4.09 million km2) is suitable for bears. Connectivity analyses identified corridors that could facilitate movement among southern European bear populations, though agriculture and human development limit connectivity between northern and southern European bear populations. Previous research estimated bears occupied 0.5 million km2 across the European Union, while our results estimate 1.82 million km2 of this area is potentially suitable for bears, though connectivity is limited. Our results inform conservation strategies and policy development fo..., , # High habitat potential but limited connectivity for brown bears throughout Europe Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.83bk3jb48](10.5061/dryad.83bk3jb48) ## Description of the data and file structure We used brown bear data collected during 2000–2018 from various research projects and monitoring programs. Data were compiled as part of the BearConnect initiative ([https://bearconnect.org](https://bearconnect.org)), and sourced from research groups, government agencies, and non-government organizations. We created a dataset of bear occurrences including all ten European bear populations and Turkey using telemetry locations, genetic samples, remote camera images, direct observations, and other confirmed evidence of presence. All records of bear occurrences were verified by the respective research groups and government agencies. ### Files and variables #### File: bearscript_revised.R **Description:** Script needed to run the species distribution model in R #### File: censored_10km.csv **...,