Although bobcats (Lynx rufus) have been studied extensively throughout their distributional range, gaps exist in the literature regarding how bobcats move through the landscape. Southern Illinois is characterized by a patchy human-influenced landscape where bobcats exist at relatively high densities (~30/100km 2). Previous research on this bobcat population indicated a 10% annual mortality rate due to vehicles, which is the highest vehicle-caused mortality rate reported for bobcats in the wildlife literature. I am assessing how roads and habitat configuration affect bobcat movements based on geospatial data, fractal analysis of >100 movement paths collected from 15 bobcats, and a GIS. My research will provide insight into landscape permeability for a highly-mobile carnivore existing in a human-dominated, rural landscape common to much of bobcat range.
