Effectiveness of Wildlife Corridors in Maintaining Gene Flow Between Isolated Forest Patches

Abstract

This paper assesses how wildlife corridors help sustain gene flow and improve biodiversity in fragmented landscapes. Field surveys, genetic analysis, and remote sensing data were used to evaluate species richness, genetic diversity, and movement frequency at intervention (wildlife corridor) and control (fragmented patches) sites over 2 years (2024-2026). These findings showed that species richness at the intervention sites improved significantly, increasing by 20-38 species (p < 0.01), whereas at the control sites, there was no significant change, with an increase of 20-22 species. The intervention sites had greater genetic diversity, as indicated by FST values (FST = 0.15 ± 0.05, p < 0.05), than the control sites (FST = 0.30 ± 0.07); thus, genetic differentiation was reduced, and gene flow increased. Also, the frequency of movement was significantly higher at the intervention sites (12.5 movements/month; p < 0.05) than at the control sites (4.8 movements/month). Regression analysis indicated a positive relationship (r = 0.68) between corridor use and genetic diversity, suggesting that greater species movement via corridors was associated with higher genetic interaction. These results validate that wildlife corridors make a significant contribution to biodiversity increases and gene flow, thereby alleviating the negative impacts of habitat fragmentation. The statistical significance of the results (ANOVA, p < 0.05) indicates that corridor design is important for enhancing wildlife preservation. The paper highlights that wildlife corridors should be incorporated into landscape and conservation planning to preserve ecological connectivity and long-term species survival.