Researchers: Jonathan Cole and Jochen Jaeger

Highlights:

• The Adirondack–Laurentian ecological corridor is a critical movement linkage for wildlife.
  
• This region boasts a wide variety of habitats that still maintain a high degree of ecological integrity and are rich in biodiversity.
  
• Population growth over the past 50 years has caused a rise in development putting the area under increased risk of habitat loss and landscape fragmentation.
  
• This project involves measuring changes in habitat amount, fragmentation, and connectivity in the Adirondacks to Laurentians (A2L) transboundary wildlife linkage from 1992 to 2018.
  
• This work is conducted at three spatial scales (study area, provincial/state portion, MRC)/county) using six species (eastern wolf, black bear, fisher, moose, white-tailed deer and porcupine).
  
• The purpose of his research is to locate priority areas for protection and ecological restoration as well as pin-point optimal sites for the placement of wildlife crossing structures and fencing.
  
• Another aspect of this research involves the establishment of optimal configurations for wildlife crossing structures and fencing to reduce animal-vehicle collisions and increase species connectivity.

• Cole, J.R. Kross, A., Jaeger, J.A.G. (2023): Monitoring changes in landscape structure in the Adirondack-to-Laurentians (A2L) transboundary wildlife linkage from 1992-2018: Identifying priority areas for conservation and restoration. Landscape Ecology 38: 383-408.   
  
• Cole, J.R., Koen, E.L., Pedersen, E.J., Gallo, J.A., Kross, A., Jaeger, J.A.G. (2023): Impacts of anthropogenic land transformation on species-specific habitat amount, fragmentation, and connectivity in the Adirondack-to-Laurentians (A2L) transboundary wildlife linkage between 2000 and 2015: Implications for conservation and ecological restoration. Landscape Ecology 38: 2591-2621.