Research overview: genetic connectivity versus movement connectivity

Movement and gene flow are related but not identical, and this overview examines how the two lines of evidence complement each other in assessing felid connectivity. Telemetry captures the movements of a few tracked individuals over months or years, while landscape genetics infers the cumulative effect of successful, reproductive dispersal over generations from the spatial pattern of genetic variation. A corridor used by a tracked disperser only matters demographically if dispersers also breed, which genetics reveals. Conversely, genetic connectivity can persist through rare events that telemetry is unlikely to catch. The overview discusses how integrating both, and using each to validate resistance surfaces, yields a fuller picture than either alone. For fragmented cat populations, combining movement and genetic connectivity is now best practice.