For rare and endangered species, bioenergetics modeling can represent a valuable approach for understanding issues of habitat value and connectivity among potential habitats within nurseries in restoration programs. We used multivariable bioenergetics and survival models for Atlantic sturgeon to generate spatially explicit maps of potential production in the Chesapeake Bay. For the period 1993e...

Patchy distributions of organisms and environmental conditions are characteristic traits of aquatic environments. Yet biological and physical measurements are often averaged over large spatial scales when used in environmental models. From a fish's perspective, local rather than spatially averaged conditions determine available habitat. We found that a horizontal cell size of 40 m preserved env...

Habitat fragmentation and interspecific competition are two important forces that potentially affect lynx populations. Fragmentation operates by various mechanisms, including direct habitat loss, vehicle collisions and behavioral disturbance from roads, and changes in landscape features such as edges. Competition takes two forms: Exploitation competition involves potential competitors, such as ...

Land use changes by human activities have been the main causes of habitats and wildlife population degradation. In the Tehuantepec Isthmus in Oaxaca, the tropical habitat of the porcupine Sphiggurus mexicanus has been subject to vegetation and land use changes, causing its reduction and fragmentation. In this study, we estimated vegetation cover and land use (δn) change rates and assessed habit...

Jaguar (Panthera onca) populations in the Upper Paraná River, in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest region, live in a landscape that includes highly fragmented areas as well as relatively intact ones. We developed a model of jaguar habitat suitability in this region, and based on this habitat model, we developed a spatially structured metapopulation model of the jaguar populations in this area to an...