摘要：Anthropogenic habitat degradation and loss is the single largest threat to the endangered Florida panther, Pumaconcolor coryi. Conservation of the subspecies must be undertaken on the scale of the entire landscape. Thus, aview of the forested landscape of South Florida must be developed that is meaningful with reference to thepanther. We approach this problem by analyzing the spatial interactions of panthers and forests at multiple scales.We apply tools derived from fractal geometry to the analysis of 12 years of telemetry observations of panthersand remotely sensed forest cover imagery. A fractal characterization extends conventional scale.dependentmeasures of forest density and relates intuitively to panther ecology. To move toward a panther.centered view ofthe forests of South Florida, we adopt a scale.dependent notion of association and compare the density of forestcover associated with panther locations to that of the forest at large. Panthers interact with forest cover over awide range of scales, consistently selecting denser than average forest areas. We discuss landscape.scalemanagement of the panther in light of our findings and propose a protocol for mapping forest cover withreference to the panther at multiple scales as a mangement tool for habitat assessment
