Mountains as key areas for carnivore connectivity in Neotropical grasslands

Abstract

Habitat loss and fragmentation threaten biodiversity, particularly for carnivores whose dispersion and population viability are compromised by reduced available habitat and anthropogenic elements in the landscape, such as roads and crops. The world’s grasslands have experienced considerable degradation and replacement by crops and are currently limited to natural patches scattered throughout the region. In Argentina, the last remaining grassland remnants that persist are associated within the Pampean mountain systems, which act as crucial refuges for the species that inhabit them in the region. Our objectives were to identify and map priority sites and areas that can act as ecological corridors between highland grassland patches of high conservation priority. We performed connectivity analyses using least-cost path models and circuit theory. To do this, we generated habitat suitability models by combining environmental and anthropic variables, from which resistance surfaces were generated. We highlight areas of high habitat suitability for carnivores in the Pampas ecoregion, with particular emphasis on highland grassland. We identified potential corridors and least-cost paths for five carnivore species, obtaining multi-species corridors which highlight the importance of landscape connectivity for maintaining healthy populations. Centrality analyses revealed crucial grassland remnants and valuable corridors. These findings address the challenges associated with habitat fragmentation in the Pampas ecoregion and provide guidelines for future research and carnivore conservation actions.