NETPERSIST - NETwork analysis of critical connectivity thresholds for metapopulation PERSISTENCE in complex agricultural landscapes

Metapopulation persistence is affected by the structure of habitat-networks and the composition of the surrounding matrix, which together determine the fluxes of individuals among patches.

This project aims at the assessment of the effects of landscape functional connectivity on metapopulation persistence and coexistence, using Cabrera and water voles in Mediterranean farmland as model system. In particular, patch-based graphics and genetic networks are combined to analyse connectivity thresholds for Cabrera vole metapopulations. Studies are mostly based on non-invasive genetic sampling of faeces, repeated on seasonal basis over large areas, and involve measuring the effects of habitat-network structure and matrix composition on voles’ dispersal, population structuring, and gene flow.

 

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