Lawler, Joshua J.Crossway, Fern2025-10-022025-10-022025-10-022025Crossway_washington_0250O_28889.pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/1773/54033Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2025Habitat fragmentation is a major driver of wildlife population decline globally, and the loss and fragmentation of grassland ecosystems has resulted in the reduction of functional connectivity for many specialist butterflies. These species are highly dependent on connected habitat patches for maintaining genetic diversity and protecting populations from extreme events such as drought or fire. The Taylor's checkerspot, an endangered Pacific Northwest endemic species, has experienced declines in local population abundance across their geographical range due to the loss of grasslands. This loss has been caused by the increasing spread of invasive species, conifer encroachment, the loss of historical fire regimes, and human activities. To support the conservation goals for this species, I developed a movement model and conducted a connectivity analysis to determine how patch size, quantity, and placement influence dispersal probabilities across a portion of the butterfly's range. Because this species is short lived with a limited flight period, movement over multiple generations may be necessary for colonizing new patches. To account for this, I quantified dispersal potential over 100 generations using a Markov chain approach. Over 100 generations, many small stepping stones produced the highest dispersal probabilities when compared to the addition of fewer, larger patches. The placement and number of these patches differed in their ability to improve immigration versus emigration rates. After 100 years, randomized patch placement supported higher immigration probabilities while randomized and least-cost-path patch placement supported similar emigration probabilities, providing managers with flexibility when selecting sites, which may alleviate budgetary limitations or land-use conflicts. This is especially important in highly developed areas where options for restoring habitat are likely to be limited to small, opportunistically acquired patches.application/pdfen-USCC BY-NC-NDbutterflydispersalfragmentationhabitat lossmetapopulationmovementConservation biologyEcologyWildlife conservationForestryThesis