A Range-Wide Model of Landscape Connectivity for the Jaguar

This study built a continental model of connectivity for the jaguar, mapping potential movement corridors linking jaguar populations from Mexico to Argentina. The authors used expert knowledge and landscape data to identify routes through which jaguars could disperse between core populations, providing the scientific basis for the Jaguar Corridor Initiative, an ambitious effort to maintain a connected network across the species' range. By treating the jaguar as a single, range-wide metapopulation rather than a set of isolated groups, the work reframed conservation around preserving genetic and demographic connectivity across many countries. It demonstrated how landscape-connectivity modelling can guide large-scale carnivore strategy. The study matters as a landmark example of corridor-based conservation for a big cat, influencing how connectivity is planned not just for jaguars but for wide-ranging predators globally, where maintaining movement between cores is central to long-term persistence.