Carnivore connectivity in Fennoscandia
KEY POINTS- Identifies how landscape factors influence the genetic connectivity of large carnivores
- Improves cross-border carnivore management
Project overview
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Short summary
The project maps how brown bears, wolves, lynx and wolverines move between areas across Fennoscandia. The aim is to understand how connectivity affects genetic health and to provide a scientific basis for sustainable, transboundary large carnivore management.
Human-driven environmental change is fragmenting ecosystems, threatening biodiversity and the viability of animal populations. Maintaining connectivity is especially important for large carnivores, which occur at low densities and range across extensive areas. These keystone species support ecosystem health and are protected under EU law, but conflicts with people often lead to calls for population reductions that may undermine conservation gains. Connectivity can reduce genetic risks in small, fragmented populations and strengthen their resilience to future environmental change.
This project uses the Fennoscandian large-carnivore guild, i.e. brown bear, wolf, Eurasian lynx, and wolverine, as a model system. By combining genetic, demographic, and spatial datasets, it will identify the landscape factors that facilitate or restrict genetic connectivity across species and spatial scales. Genome-informed simulations will assess long-term genetic risks under alternative future connectivity scenarios. The project will also examine mismatches between ecologically meaningful population boundaries and administrative borders, providing knowledge to improve transboundary conservation and management.
By identifying general patterns and species-specific differences in connectivity, the project will support science-based carnivore management, help safeguard biodiversity across trophic levels, and contribute to resilient forest ecosystems in Northern Europe.
Project collaborators are the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) in Norway, the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and the County Administrative Board of Västerbotten in Sweden.