Habitat Corridor - Users

Users

Species can be categorized in one of two groups (1) passage users and (2) corridor dweller.

Passage users occupy corridors for brief periods of time. These animals use corridors for such events as seasonal migration, dispersal of a juvenile, or moving between parts of a large home range. Usually large herbivores, medium to large carnivores, and migratory species are passage users (Beier & Loe 1992). One common misconception is that the corridor only needs to be wide enough for the passage users to get through. However, the corridor still must be wide enough to be safe and also encourage the animals to use it, even though they do not live out their entire lives in it.

The second type of corridor user is a “corridor dweller,” which can occupy the passage anywhere from several days to several years. Species such as plants, reptiles, amphibians, birds, insects, and small mammals can spend their entire lives in linear habitats. In this case, the corridor must include everything that a species needs to live and breed, such as soil for germination, burrowing areas, and multiple other breeding adults (Beier & Loe 1992).