Communicating clearly about conservation corridors

摘要: Abstract Conflicting definitions lead to confusion when people communicate about ‘corridors’, particularly they come from different disciplinary backgrounds. Usage of ‘corridor’ in game management, island biogeography, and metapopulation literature focused on function, namely, the movement flora fauna one area another. A structural usage term arose field landscape ecology as it developed North America with matrix–patch–corridor paradigm structure. ‘Corridor’ is now used describe both functional aspects linear features, often implicitly, a wide range literature. Lack clear consistent terminology leads goals or implied functions corridors. Consequently, manner which corridors should be designed, managed, evaluated also unclear. Proper design management corridor depends critically explicit statement its intended functions. If are not designed perform well-defined functions, outcome may disappointing, even deleterious. The roles play derive six ecological functions: habitat, conduit, filter, barrier, source, sink. These have been recognized widely adopted by number disciplines, including conservation biology, wildlife ecology, planning. We review briefly history context conservation, catalog some uses, corridors, differentiate between reject notion defining succinctly, because complex multiple serve. Instead, we suggest that conservationists planners consider document explicitly all possible designing them. Addressing these eliminate much surrounding their roles, focus attention establishing criteria for function intended.