UNICOR: a species connectivity and corridor network simulator

We introduce UNIversal CORridor network simulator (UNICOR), a species connectivity and corridor identification tool. UNICOR applies Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm to individual-based simulations. Outputs can be used to designate movement corridors, identify isolated populations, and priorit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecography (Copenhagen) 2012-01, Vol.35 (1), p.9-14
Main Authors: Landguth, E. L., Hand, B. K., Glassy, J., Cushman, S. A., Sawaya, M. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Climate change
Connectivity
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Graph theory
Habitat conservation
Habitat corridors
Habitat fragmentation
Highways
Landscapes
Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking
Resistance movements
Simulations
Software notes
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:We introduce UNIversal CORridor network simulator (UNICOR), a species connectivity and corridor identification tool. UNICOR applies Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm to individual-based simulations. Outputs can be used to designate movement corridors, identify isolated populations, and prioritize conservation plans to promote species persistence. The key features include a driver-module framework, connectivity mapping with thresholding and buffering, and calculation of graph theory metrics. Through parallel-processing, computational efficiency is greatly improved, allowing analyses of large extents and entire populations. Previously available approaches are limited by prolonged computational times and poor algorithmic efficiency, restricting problem-size and requiring artificial subsampling of populations.
ISSN:0906-7590
1600-0587
DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0587.2011.07149.x