The Hub Conservation Area - Montanans 4 Safe Wildlife Passage

Literature ReviewThis review is meant to describe kinds of animalmovement and the relevancy of movementsto corridors to a general audience that maynot have direct experience with wildliferesearch. American Wildlands completed aliterature review of wildlife corridor studiesto better understand the role corridors play inwildlife conservation. We reviewed publishedliterature regarding animal movement in theNorthern Rocky Mountains, including homerange sizes, long distance dispersal, migratorymovements, the effects of fragmentation onmovement patterns, and the need for corridorsin a developing landscape. We touch on thecontroversy behind corridor conservation,provide a summary of where gaps currently existin corridor knowledge, and suggest areas wherefuture research may be directed.METHODSThe literature search reviewed peer-reviewedpapers and technical publications foundthrough online search engines, library searches,and papers referred to us during our PriorityLinkage Assessment interviews. Papers werereviewed from the following journals: BiologicalConservation, Bioscience, ConservationBiology, Diversity and Distributions, Ecography,Ecological Modeling, Ecology, Journal of AnimalEcology, Journal of Applied Ecology, Journal ofEnvironmental Management, Journal of WildlifeManagement, Landscape Ecology, and WildlifeSociety Bulletin. We also consulted several fulllength texts. The search was originally confinedto the years 2002 – 2008. Relevant articleswritten previous to these dates, encountered ascitations in these articles, were also utilized. Wepaid specific attention to research performed inthe U.S. Northern Rocky Mountain region withparticular focus on large mammal work. Bothempirical and theoretical research completedon animals outside of our focal species wereexamined to gain a better understanding of thescientific basis of current corridor and habitatconservation.KINDS OF ANIMAL MOVEMENTAnimal movement is essential for individualand long-term population survival. Movementallows animals to obtain appropriate, adequateand quality nutrients, water, viable mates, andeffective habitat for shelter and raising young.Unfortunately, continued habitat fragmentationposes a formidable barrier to this movement.Appendix 1 identifies animals native to theU.S. Northern Rocky Mountains while Appendix2 defines known home range sizes for thesespecies. Appendix 3 lists known migrationdistances, and Appendix 4 lists known dispersaldistances. Each of these plays a vital role in thelong-term survival of a population. This reviewdiscusses each of these kinds of movement anddetails current knowledge specific to movementand corridor conservation.Home rangeAnimals are able to meet basic needs throughlocal movements made within their home range.Home range is defined as an area normallytraversed by an individual or group of animalsduring activities associated with feeding,resting, reproduction and shelter-seeking(Harestad and Bunnell, 1979). Appendix 2 liststhe known home ranges for U.S. Northern RockyMountain wildlife, while identifying where moreresearch is required.When reviewing the home range of individualspecies, it is important to note the role of aspecies’ territory. While a home range definesthe entire area traversed by an individual orgroup of individuals during their daily activities,the territory for an individual or group ofindividuals is defined as the area of a homerange that they will defend against others ofthe same species (Lincoln et al., 1998). For33