How big game use and move through habitat between housing development
Need and opportunity
Disturbance is often defined as density or amount per given area. However, such metrics do not provide clear guidance for how constrictions of development in certain areas (i.e., widths between houses) affect wildlife use of those habits or movement through those areas. Further density or amount of disturbance must be calculated based on a given area (per acre, per 100 acres, etc.), making those values easy to manipulate in practice.
A method to calculate space between housing structures, and an analysis of how big game species respond to such a disturbance metric may help guide minimum amounts and configuration of housing development that allows for functional use and movement by wildlife after development.
Where we are
We have a manuscript drafted and are working on finishing touches and gathering feedback from collaborators. We plan to submit the manuscript to a scientific journal in fall 2024.
Where we’re going
The end goal is a peer-reviewed paper outlining our findings as well as a tool that land planners can use to understand the impacts of new housing developments on wildlife habitat use and movement.
Team members
Jerod Merkle
Jerod is an assistant professor and the Knobloch professor of migration ecology and conservation at University of Wyoming. Jerod’s research program is twofold. He and his team study the intricacies of the movement and migration of big game, and develop data products and tools to facilitate their conservation and management.
