Research overview: source-sink dynamics in tiger reserve networks

Tiger persistence across Asia increasingly depends on networks of reserves connected by corridors. This overview synthesizes the source-sink framework, in which well-protected core reserves with abundant prey produce surplus tigers that disperse into surrounding sink areas where mortality is higher. It reviews how the productivity of source populations, the permeability of corridors, and the intensity of poaching and conflict in sinks determine whether a landscape sustains tigers. The synthesis explains why protecting a few high-quality cores while maintaining connectivity can support tigers across far larger areas than the cores alone. For those following tiger conservation it clarifies why reserve management emphasizes both rigorous protection of breeding cores and the difficult work of keeping dispersal routes open, so that the surplus produced in safe havens can repopulate and rescue the wider landscape.