Fractured genetic connectivity threatens a southern California puma population

Using genetic samples from pumas across southern California, this study revealed that freeways and urban development had carved the regional population into fragments with reduced gene flow and signs of inbreeding, most acutely in the Santa Ana Mountains. The authors documented low genetic diversity and a population effectively cut off by the interstate system, warning of an extinction trajectory absent restored connectivity. The work provided the genetic foundation for understanding why isolated Los Angeles area cougar populations, including those in the Santa Monica Mountains, faced long-term viability threats, and it underpinned the scientific case for wildlife crossings spanning major freeways.