Mapping the connectivity-conflict interface to inform conservation

Area of Science:

• Conservation Science
• Landscape Ecology
• Wildlife Management

Background:

• Wildlife connectivity is essential for species persistence but often conflicts with human interests.
• Dispersing animals can cause human-wildlife conflict, leading to mortality and reduced landscape connectivity.
• Mitigating conflict while maintaining connectivity is a critical conservation dilemma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel framework for analyzing the interplay between wildlife connectivity and human-wildlife conflict.
• To disentangle the impacts of movement barriers and conflict-induced mortality on connectivity.
• To identify location-specific strategies for conflict mitigation that support conservation goals.

Main Methods:

• Extended random-walk theory to map the connectivity-conflict interface.
• Modeled Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) movement in a human-dominated landscape.
• Incorporated both natural and conflict-induced mortality into connectivity models.

Main Results:

• Conflict and natural mortality significantly reduced wildlife movement and population connectivity.
• Models incorporating animal movement and conflict predicted observed conflict patterns more accurately than distribution-only models.
• The framework identified key areas where animal movement and human activities intersect.

Conclusions:

• Wildlife connectivity and human-wildlife conflict are interconnected processes.
• Predicting conflict hotspots enables targeted mitigation strategies that benefit both people and wildlife.
• This approach supports landscape-scale conservation planning for shared environments.