geog170_finalproject_mtnlions
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This document presents the results of a study to identify suitable habitat for mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains and recommend road crossing locations. The study used GIS analysis to create suitability maps based on physical features like vegetation and streams, as well as human development factors. Key fragments and their intersections with roads were identified. Three potential crossing locations were proposed, with the top choice being near Malibu Canyon Rd due to its importance and fire risk. The study integrated data on habitat, development, and wildfires to recommend the most critical road crossings to connect mountain lion habitats.
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geog170_finalproject_mtnlions
- 1. Identification of Suitable Mountain Lion Habitat and Road Crossings Enrique Gutierrez | Kate Keeley | Jessica Sanchez | Yajaira Visoso | George Yoo Geography 170 Final Project
- 2. Mountain Lions (Puma concolor) ● Largest cat in North America ● Umbrella species ● Population control ● Charismatic species ● Not threatened or endangered ● "Specially protected species"
- 3. “Specially Protected Species” ● Specially designated as needing protection though total population isn’t threatened ● Used to be widespread in Southern CA ● Now, only ~20 in Los Angeles/Ventura area
- 6. [insert map of SMM roads]
- 9. Included: Watershed analysis Suitability Analysis Human Development: ● Human Infrastructure ● Hiking Trails ● Private/Public Land Hazards: ● Fire Hazard Zones ● Sewer Locations Included: NDVI Human Development: ● Slope ● Hillshade ● Vegetation Type
- 10. Suitability Analysis 1.) Select top two ranked fragment type 2.) Select fragments that are within 1 mile of roads 3.) Create fragment heatmaps to identify important areas 4.) Identify largest range intersected by roads 5.) Create point layer of important crossing locations
- 11. Inputs: Physical Watershed analysis: DEM + Lakes of SMM Fill Flow Direction Flow Accumulation Stream Raster Stream Link Streams in SMM
- 12. Inputs: Physical
- 13. Inputs: Physical
- 14. Inputs: Physical
- 15. Inputs: Physical
- 16. Inputs: Physical
- 18. Inputs: Hazards
- 19. Suitability Analysis: Input Rankings Streams: inside0.1 mile buffer = ranked 10; outside 5 miles = ranked 1 Vegetation type: trees = 10; developed = 0 NDVI: highest value = 10; lowest value = 1 Hillshade: shade = 3; no shade = 1 Human structures: outside 1 mile buffer = 3; inside 1 mile = 1 Hiking trails: outside 1 mile = 5; inside 0.25 mile buffer = 1 Land type: public = 5; private = 0 Sewers: outside 50 mile buffer = 5; inside 0.5 miles = 1 Fire hazard: no hazard = 5; extreme hazard = 1
- 22. Fragment Hotspots Near Roads
- 23. Fragment Hotspots Near Roads
- 24. Best Crossing Locations: Scenario 1
- 26. Best Crossing Locations: Scenario 2
- 27. Best Crossing Locations #1 Choice #2 Choice #3 Choice (different depending on scenario)
- 28. Are these crossing locations at risk?
- 29. Are these crossing locations at risk? 1970 • Fire Perimeters 1965-2013 • Import into ArcMap • Include temporal data • Import into Tracking Analyst • Enable playback manager • Fire perimeters focus on physical geography ● Provide historical context
- 30. 1980 Are these crossing locations at risk? 1990
- 31. 2000 Are these crossing locations at risk? 2005
- 32. 2010 Are these crossing locations at risk? 2013
- 33. Conclusions Road Crossing Locations 1.) N1 Malibu Canyon Rd Site of frequent fires (3 in the last 30 years) 2.) Route 27 -- Topanga Canyon Rd 3.) Route 23 Takes into consideration many important factors to find the most critical road locations to connect vital habitats
- 36. QUESTIONS? Enrique Gutierrez | Kate Keeley | Jessica Sanchez | Yajaira Visoso | George Yoo Geography 170 Final Project
Editor's Notes
- Help maintain a balance in the ecosystems they inhabit Ensuring their survival will help maintain both the populations of grazers as well as other predators in balance important to prevent overgrazing & maintaining biodiversity
- This map was made by the NPS and shows the locations of all of the known pumas in the area. You can see most reside in the protected Santa Monica Mountains. This area is a really important habitat for mountain lions. However….
- This map was made by the NPS and shows the locations of known mountain lion deaths. You can see that most take place in the SMM and most in the SMM are vehicle collisions.
- When we look at the SMM and the roads there, we can see why. roads are breaking up this open mountain lion habitat. Mountain lions have large ranges and are constantly roaming around leading to many collisions with roads. In fact, animal-vehicle accidents cost $1 billion annually in property damage and cause an average of 165 human deaths. Further, the habitats that are left are isolated and not all are ideal for living for mountain lions
- Wildlife corridors connect habitats fragments. These are really important so inbreeding doesn’t occur in tiny fragments and allows genetic diversity to increase, as well as the health and wellbeing of the animals. Although they are much needed, they are expensive projects, costing millions of dollars. Some research suggests “a bridge that would maintain a riparian corridor costs about 13 times as much per lane-mile as would a road that would sever the corridor.”
- Through our findings, we hope to diminish the overall cost by pinpointing specific locations in which mountain lions are at the greatest risk due to a lack of corridors.
- Work Flow
- Work Flow
- insert a north arrow
- insert a north arrow