Predicted connectivity pathways between grizzly bear ecosystems in Western Montana: spatial data

Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) connectivity pathways delineate predicted movement routes for grizzly bears between federally designated recovery zones in and near western Montana. These raster data are the official data release for Sells et al. (2023), "Predicted connectivity pathways between grizzly bear ecosystems in Western Montana." In summary, we built on recent work by Sells et al. (2022, 2023) to simulate movements using integrated step selection functions (iSSFs) developed from GPS-collared grizzly bears (F = 46, M = 19) in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE). We applied the iSSFs in a >300,000 km2 area including the NCDE, Cabinet–Yaak (CYE), Bitterroot (BE), and Greater Yellowstone (GYE) Ecosystems to simulate habitat use between ecosystems. We employed two simulation methods. First, we simulated directed movements (randomized shortest paths with 3 levels of exploration) between start and end nodes across populations. Second, we simulated undirected movements from start nodes in the NCDE, CYE, or GYE (no predetermined end nodes). We summarized and binned results as classes 1(lowest relative predicted use) -10 (highest relative predicted use) and evaluated predictions using 127 outlier grizzly bear locations. Connectivity pathways were primarily associated with mountainous areas and secondarily with river and stream courses in open valleys. Values at outlier locations indicated good model fit and mean iSSF classes at outlier locations (≥7.4) and Spearman rank correlations (≥0.87) were highest for undirected simulations and directed simulations with the highest level of exploration. Our predictive maps can facilitate on-the-ground application of this research for prioritizing habitat conservation, human-bear conflict mitigation, and transportation planning.

                                            [
  "010:12"
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                                            {
  "fn": "Sarah N Sells",
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  "hasEmail": "mailto:ssells@usgs.gov"
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                                            [
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                                            [
  "Bitterroot Ecosystem",
  "Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem",
  "Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem",
  "Idaho",
  "Montana",
  "Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem",
  "Selkirk Ecosystem",
  "US Northern Rocky Mountains",
  "USGS:6491b29bd34ef77fcb004434",
  "United States",
  "Ursus arctos",
  "Wyoming",
  "bears",
  "biota",
  "connectivity",
  "dispersal (organisms)",
  "grizzly bears",
  "integrated step selection functions",
  "movement ecology",
  "natural resource management"
]
                                        

                                            {
  "name": "U.S. Geological Survey",
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                                            [
  "Geospatial"
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