Corridors are linear strips of habitat that may be promising conservation tools. Yet, examination of the efficacy of corridors is often hindered by the difficulty of performing large-scale, replicated experiments. Moreover, because corridors can connect patches as well as change patch size and shape, the mechanisms by which corridors affect organisms is often unclear.

An experimental landscape designed by Nick Haddad, Doug Levey, Brent Danielson, and Sarah Sargent that was created by the U.S. Forest Service at the Savannah River Site is the first large-scale, replicated study designed to evaluate the effects of corridors. The project has already revealed that corridors facilitate pollination and promote the movement of bird-dispersed seeds and butterflies. Within this experimental landscape, I focused on the interactions between seeds and seed predators. My work has shown that corridors can shift the activity and impact of rodent seed predators, and that patch shape may increase the abundance and impact of arthropod seed predators. (Click here for a list of downloadable publications from the corridor project, courtesy of Nick Haddad).

Currently, I am working with the Corridor Research Group, a collaborative group with the goal of testing the large-scale efficacy of corridor networks. For more information, see www.conservationcorridor.org.

Haddad, N. M., B. Hudgens*, E. I. Damschen, D. Levey, J. L. Orrock, J. Tewksbury, and A. Weldon. In press. Assessing both positive and negative effects of corridors. For publication in: Perspectives from Source-Sink Dynamics. (*Secondary authors all contributed equally to the work)

Damschen, E. I., L. A. Brudvig*, N. M. Haddad, D. J. Levey, J. L. Orrock, and J. J. Tewksbury.  2008.  The movement ecology and dynamics of plant communities in fragmented landscapes.  (*Secondary authors all contributed equally to the work)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 105: 19078-19083. [Reprint]

Orrock, J. L., D. J. Levey, B. J. Danielson, and E. I. Damschen.  2006.  Seed predation, not seed dispersal, explains the landscape-level abundance of an early-successional plant.
Journal of Ecology 94: 838-845. [Reprint]

Damschen, E. I., N. M. Haddad, J. L. Orrock, D. J. Levey, and J. J. Tewksbury.  2006.  Corridors increase plant species richness at large scales. 
Science 313: 1284-1286. [Reprint]

Orrock, J. L.  2005. Conservation corridors affect the fixation of novel alleles.
Conservation Genetics 6: 623-630. [Reprint]

Levey, D. J., B. M. Bolker, J. J. Tewksbury, S. Sargent, and N. M. Haddad. 2005. Effects of landscape corridors on seed dispersal by birds. 
Science 309: 146-148.

Orrock, J. L. and E. I. Damschen.  2005. Corridors cause differential seed predation.
Ecological Applications 15: 793-798. [Reprint]

Orrock, J. L. and B. J. Danielson. 2005. Patch shape, connectivity, and foraging by the oldfield mouse, Peromyscus polionotus. 
Journal of Mammalogy 86: 569-575. [Reprint]

Brinkerhoff, R. J., N. M. Haddad, and J. L. Orrock.  2005. Corridors and olfactory predator cues affect small mammal behavior. 
Journal of Mammalogy 86: 662-669. [Reprint]

Orrock, J. L., B. J. Danielson, M. J. Burns, and D. J. Levey. 2003. Spatial ecology of predator-prey interactions:  corridors and patch shape influence seed predation.
Ecology 84: 2589-2599. [Reprint]

Tewksbury, J. J., D. J. Levey, N. M. Haddad, S. Sargent, J. L. Orrock, A. Weldon, B. J. Danielson, J. Brinkerhoff, E. I. Damschen, and P. Townsend.  2002.  Corridors affect plants, animals, and their interactions in fragmented landscapes. 
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 99: 12923-12926. [Reprint]