An international team of researchers has produced the most comprehensive assessment to date of connectivity across the jaguar's range, identifying key habitats and movement corridors that could help guide conservation efforts for the Americas' largest cat.
The study, published in Global Change Biology , used movement data from 172 GPS-collared jaguars to map the landscapes most important for maintaining connectivity between populations across the species' current range, which extends from Mexico to northern Argentina.
The researchers identified 307 core living areas that support high levels of predicted jaguar movement and 176 corridors linking those areas. Together, the results provide a range-wide picture of how jaguar populations may remain connected despite increasing habitat loss and fragmentation.
First author of the study is Guilherme Costa Alvarenga, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), University of Oxford and Grupo de Pesquisa em Ecologia e Conservação de Felinos na Amazônia, Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development (MISD), Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil.
Senior authors and co-leaders are Żaneta Kaszta, Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, previously at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford, and Samuel Cushman, Professor. Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, previously at University of Oxford.
"Previous efforts to map connectivity across the jaguar's range relied largely on expert opinion," said Żaneta Kaszta, "Our study is based on empirical movement data collected from jaguars across much of their range, allowing us to build a more biologically realistic picture of connectivity."
The analysis reveals one overwhelmingly important stronghold: a vast connected landscape spanning parts of the Amazon, Llanos, Pantanal and Chaco regions. Covering approximately 6.5 million square kilometres across 11 countries, this area ranked as the most important core habitat for jaguar connectivity and accounted for the vast majority of predicted movement density in the model.
Outside this central stronghold, the picture was more fragmented.
The researchers identified major connectivity gaps in parts of Mexico, Central America, Colombia and the Atlantic Forest. Many jaguar populations in these regions appear increasingly isolated, raising concerns about long-term gene flow and population persistence.
"Jaguars are in a stronger position than many other large carnivores because they still retain an extensive connected stronghold in South America," said Samuel Cushman. "However, our results show that connectivity is far from secure across the species' entire range. Several regions now depend on relatively narrow connections that could be lost if habitat conversion continues."
In addition to modelling connectivity between existing jaguar strongholds, the team also analysed connectivity among 905 protected areas and Indigenous lands. This second modelling approach identified 507 potential corridors and highlighted locations where conservation action could strengthen future connectivity.
The researchers found that the two approaches provided complementary information. Connectivity based on current jaguar populations offered the most realistic representation of present-day conditions, while the protected area analysis revealed potential opportunities for restoring or maintaining connectivity in the future.
The study comes as conservation organisations and governments increasingly emphasise connectivity as a key strategy for biodiversity conservation. Maintaining connections between populations can help sustain gene flow, facilitate dispersal and reduce the risk of local extinctions.
The authors stress that the identified corridors represent modelled pathways rather than confirmed movement routes and that field validation remains necessary.
"These results provide a framework for prioritising conservation action across the jaguar's range," said Kaszta. "The maps identify where connectivity appears strongest, where it is most vulnerable, and where future conservation efforts could have the greatest impact."
The researchers hope the findings will help guide habitat protection, restoration efforts and transboundary conservation initiatives aimed at maintaining connectivity for jaguars under increasing pressure from land-use change.
Global Change Biology
Computational simulation/modeling
Animals
Jaguar Range-Wide Connectivity: Prioritising Core Areas and Corridors Between and Within Protected Areas and Indigenous Lands
4-Sep-2026