State variables for the population models depend on species characteristics and patch characteristics. Single species simulations were performed for each of 52 mammals potentially inhabiting the landscape. The landscape is represented as a collection of contiguous polygons. Each polygon is a patch of uniform land cover that is distinct from the cover in adjacent neighboring polygon patches. Land cover is classified using 27 categories.
Land cover is static throughout all simulations.
For model simulations, two landscapes were generated from land cover in two central Iowa watersheds. Land cover in the Buck and Walnut Creek watersheds and their respective locations in Iowa. The 27 land cover categories were condensed for clarity in the figure.