Research overview: genetic isolation of fragmented ocelot populations

Ocelots at the northern edge of their range in Texas show severe genetic erosion, with small isolated populations separated by agriculture and roads exhibiting low diversity and signs of inbreeding. This overview synthesises landscape-genetics and pedigree research documenting reduced connectivity between the two main remaining U.S. populations and across the border, and the resulting conservation debate over translocation and genetic rescue. It examines how thornscrub corridors, ranch stewardship and crossing structures could restore gene flow, and parallels the freeway-isolation crises of larger urban felids. The synthesis frames ocelot genetics as a cautionary example of how habitat conversion strands small carnivore populations.