Authors: Meyer, Ninon; Signer, Johannes;Dormann, Carsten;Andrén, Henrik;Persson, Jens;Linnell, John;Mattisson, Jenny;Jobin, Anja;Ornicans, Aivars;Dula, Martin;

The Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx is a wide-ranging carnivore that, following extirpation in much of Europe, is progressively recovering throughout the continent. Reintroduction and restocking of populations have been key for this recovery process. However, the species is still threatened by habitat fragmentation and genetic depletion. Hence, to better facilitate successful recolonization and to meaningfully advise policy makers on land use planning, identifying areas that ease movement of lynx are needed, yet lacking. Here, we used an extensive data set of lynx movement from 221 individuals in 11 countries across Europe to examine their resource use. We calculated landscape resistance for lynx that were categorized as either resident or disperser, and subsequently estimated functional connectivity for the two groups using circuit theory. Although corridors identified differed between the two groups, we were able to identify areas important for restoring connectivity between core populations of lynx in Europe.