About

Circuitscape is an award-winning connectivity analysis software package which borrows algorithms from electronic circuit theory to predict patterns of movement, gene flow, and genetic differentiation among plant and animal populations in heterogeneous landscapes. Circuit theory complements least-cost path approaches because it considers effects of all possible pathways across a landscape simultaneously.

The links below give more background on Circuitscape and how it is used:

• Applications

• Circuitscape user guide

• Publications

• About the authors

Noteworthy mentions

“One glorious map” using Circuitscape to model species responses to climate change almost breaks the internet. More here and here.

• Circuitscape wins Wildlife Society award

• Circuitscape on the cover of Methods in Ecology & Evolution

• Predicting climate-driven movement for 3000 species

• Using Circuitscape to predict HIV spread in Africa

Whatever tool you use, connectivity modeling involves a great deal of research, data compilation, GIS analyses, and careful interpretation of results. Defining areas to connect, parameterizing resistance models, and other modeling decisions you will need to make are not trivial. Before diving in, we strongly recommend that users first acquaint themselves with the process and challenges of connectivity modeling by consulting published resources. Good places to start include overviews on the Corridor Design and Connecting Landscapes websites.