Members of the DBS Connect team regularly publish the results of our collaborative research. Here, we highlight some of the main studies that contribute to our understanding of desert bighorn sheep connectivity in Southern California. Click on studies with an asterisk to read a publication brief written by one of our team members. Otherwise, titles will link to the source journal.
Highway underpasses offer little fragmentation relief for desert bighorn sheep near Mojave National Preserve, CA (2024)
Do underpasses built primarily for water flow help bighorn sheep "flow" across the landscape? We used trail cameras and GPS collars to see how often bighorn use underpasses to move between habitat that used to be accessible before we built major highways between them.
*Movement models and simulation reveal highway impacts and mitigation opportunities for a metapopulation-distributed species (2023)
Can we reconstruct what bighorn movement used to look like in an undeveloped landscape? We think so! This analysis uses GPS collar data to build models that describe bighorn habitat preferences and movement behavior, then simulates movement on a barrier-free landscape.
*Assessing changes in functional connectivity in a desert bighorn sheep metapopulation after two generations (2018)
The desert bighorn metapopulation can be quite dynamic. Genetic data collected ~2 bighorn generations apart highlights how changes in bighorn habitat use and behavior can result in detectable changes in genetic diversity and gene flow.
*Using network theory to prioritize management in a desert bighorn sheep metapopulation (2014)
Viewing the bighorn metapopulation as a network shines light on which connections and habitat patches matter most in the flow of bighorn and genes across the desert landscape.
*Elevation and connectivity define genetic refugia for mountain sheep as climate warms (2006)
Ever wonder how bighorn sheep manage to survive in harsh desert environments? This research provides a clue - high elevation habitat can be a refuge during times of drought and limited resources. Keeping low elevation habitat connected to these areas helps create a genetically diverse and robust metapopulation.
*Highways block gene flow and cause a rapid decline in genetic diversity of desert bighorn sheep (2005)
This foundational study was the first in the region to quantify the impact of habitat fragmentation on the desert bighorn metapopulation. By comparing the genetic similarity between populations across the desert bighorn range, this study identified a huge loss in gene flow and genetic diversity when barriers limit connectivity between populations.