Our historic distribution model identified 120,000–90,000 ha as historically potential Palm Springs pocket mouse habitat roughly 39% of that has been lost to more recent development. Our model identified soil characteristics, topographic ruggedness, and vegetation as variables delimiting Palm Springs pocket mouse habitat sand content of the soils was an especially important characteristic. We used a partitioned Mahalanobis D 2 statistic to create a spatially explicit niche model describing the distribution of a suitable niche space, and we validated the model statistically, with live trapping and with burrowing owl ( Athene cunnicularia) diets. We used those data to model their suitable niche space and then identify suitable linkages between proposed conservation areas. Between May 2007 and June 2009, we collected occurrence locations for a corridor dweller, the Palm Springs pocket mouse ( Perognathus longimembris bangsii), from museums, previous research, and our own field sampling. These tasks can be especially daunting for smaller species with low mobility, termed corridor dwellers, which must maintain sustainable populations within corridors.
Identifying linkages for dispersal and ensuring those linkages have long-term protection and management are challenging tasks for wildlife managers. Anthropogenic habitat fragmentation typically precedes conservation planning maintaining remaining linkages among core habitat areas can thus become a key conservation objective.
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