A wildlife corridor's usable width is squeezed by encroaching development from both sides. Wider, higher-quality corridors let more animals cross safely, restoring gene flow between two otherwise isolated habitat patches.
effective_width = corridor_width · (1 − encroachment)
P(success) = quality · min(1, effective_width / 2)
connectivity(t) = successes / (successes + failures)
- Corridor width — the nominal strip of habitat connecting the two patches.
- Vegetation quality — cover and food along the corridor; poor quality raises predation/failure risk during crossing.
- Migration pressure — how many animals attempt a crossing per second, testing corridor capacity.
- Human encroachment — roads/development eating into the corridor from both edges, narrowing the effective safe width.
Real-world application: conservation planners use exactly this width-vs-encroachment trade-off to size corridors like wildlife overpasses and greenways that reconnect fragmented habitat for species such as elk, jaguars or elephants.