A metapopulation generally consists of two or more populations that are located in different places at the same time. Each population occupies a large habitat block. Each habitat block can be connected to another by wildlife corridors. Put another way, corridors are linear habitats that connect two or more of the large habitat blocks. Corridors allow animals to travel between the population cores that occupy the different habitat blocks. The corridors run through "hostile" lands. Hostile lands are any type of habitat or land cover that is not favored by a species. For bobcats, hostile lands include fresh water marsh habitats and high density developments. Corridors, like the habitat blocks, consist of habitat types that are preferred by a species. For bobcats, this includes pine forests, hardwood forests, hardwood swamp - generally, any type of "forested" habitat.

The significance of a metapopulation is illustrated in the diagram below. Assume that each of the four populations (shown in blue as populations A, B, C, and D) is too small to be free of the extinction-yielding effects of inbreeding. However, if the green colored corridors exist, then the four small populations actually make up one large population with enough breeding members to overcome the effects of inbreeding. This is because the corridors allow individuals from each population to freely move to adjacent populations so that breeding is not confined within each population. Such movement promotes gene flow between each population. These four populations (that are connected by the corridors) comprise a metapopulation.

1) To examine the response of metapopulations in the ecoregion to demographic and environmental stochasticity.

2) To predict the extinction risks under various development scenarios.

3) To use the model along with the findings of research as guides to develop a region-wide habitat conservation plan.

Age at first reproduction
    Females
    Males
Age at last reproduction
Maximum longevity
Carrying capacity
Reproductive rate at female saturation
Average litter size
Survival rates
    Cubs
    Nondispersing subadults
    Dispersing females
    Dispersing males
    Adults with territory
    Adults without territory
    Old individuals
Maximum dispersal rates
    Subadult males - density-dependent
    Subadult males at saturation
    Subadult females
    Adult males without territory
    Adult females without territory