Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 1999. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 2, 2005). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 212-219).

Florida is expanding its urban borders into areas of the native habitat. Increased expansion is predicted through the next several decades. Several sections of the state are home to large carnivores, such as Florida panther and black bear, which are important to ecosystem function. Expansion of roads and urban centers will greatly reduce the quality and quantity of carnivore habitat. In this study, I used Euclidean distance analyses and very high frequency (VHF) telemetry points to produce distance categories in which carnivores either have a negative/neutral/positive association with roads and urban centers. The seven black bear populations followed four different trends: 1) Slight avoidance of roads and urban centers, 2) strong avoidance of roads and urban centers, 3) neutrality toward roads and urban centers, and 3) one population with a positive association of roads. Florida panther showed strong avoidance to roads and urban centers. Finally I modeled Florida panther and black bear habitat using Maximum Entropy Species Distribution software and placed future urban expansion and sea level incursions associated with climate change over the habitat to find high priority conservation areas.

The objective of this research was to study the impacts of large USSE facilities on wildlife movement corridors and habitat connectivity in Florida to identify important habitat patches and movement corridors significant for potential Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) dispersal, conservation, and recovery. Large carnivores (such as Florida panther) have often been examined as conservation umbrellas for large-scale connectivity planning due to their extensive spatial requirements (Beier et al., 2006, Thorne et al., 2006). In addition, Florida panther is relatively well-studied species that have been listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act for over 40 years, due to habitat fragmentation and reduction. Habitat suitability was compared before and after the installation of the USSE facilities using RandomForest model developed by Frakes and Knight (in prep). The connectivity study focused on comparing current density and effective resistance (resistance distance) before and after the installations of USSE facilities and was conducted using Circuitscape 4.0. The impacts on habitat connectivity were the most substantial in the areas where the USSE facilities were installed on or around wildlife corridors, near focal areas, and in large clusters. The study has identified important linkages and new pathways that animals may try to take in order to bypass the facilities. The study has also shown that installation of USSE facilities in areas not suitable as habitat for Florida panthers, but still permeable or semi-permeable (e.g., agricultural lands), can substantially impact connectivity between focal areas. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection