2018 Circuitscape user survey

Circuitscape is a widely-used open source software program that borrows ideas from circuit theory to assess landscape connectivity. While the range of applications for Circuitscape has continued to grow since it was first developed by Brad McRae and Viral Shah over a decade ago, computational limitations hinder its ability to solve large problems. Before Brad McRae passed away from cancer in July 2017, he received a grant from NASA’s Earth Science Applications: Ecological Forecasting program to lead a team with Viral, now at Julia Computing, to overhaul the Circuitscape 4.0 software and add functionality. Viral and several of Brad’s colleagues at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with help from many of Brad’s friends and collaborators, are continuing this important work, and we need your help!

This Circuitcape update is being written in the Julia language (open source, and tools will be backwards compatible), and we are already seeing great improvements in run times. Our work includes improvements to the built-in solver, improved scalability, and new functionality. We are actively seeking user input, using tools like this survey, to help us improve and test the update, better understand use cases and challenges, and convey to NASA the breadth and importance of uses of Circuitscape in science and decision-making.

Questions about the survey or project? Please contact Kim Hall at TNC – kimberly.hall@tnc.org

Thanks for your help!

Undergraduate Student

Graduate student or Post-Doctoral Researcher

University Scientist

Government Agency Scientist

Non-governmental Organization Scientist

County, State, Provincial, or Regional Planner

Other (please specify)

Beginner – I am currently learning about Circuitscape in a class or on my own.

Some experience – I have completed an analysis or two and explored one or two analysis modes.

Experienced user – I have completed multiple analyses & have used several analysis and mapping options.

Expert user – I have published research papers or peer-reviewed reports using Circuitscape/or can help other users design and carry out analyses.

Other (please specify)

Animal movement / landscape connectivity

Landscape genetics

Wildlife disease spread

Human health/disease dynamics

Fire modeling

Other (please specify)

Yes

Not yet, but in progress

Raster pairwise

Raster advanced

Raster oneToAll/allToOne

Network Pairwise

Network Advanced

MacOS

Windows

Linux – Ubuntu

Linux – RHEL/CentOS

Other (please specify)

Raster (resistance map)

Network/graph

Yes, but don’t contact me

Yes, and yes I would be willing to share an input file

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* 1. Name (optional)

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* 2. Email (optional)

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* 3. In what country do you work?

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* 4. Please tell us a little about yourself. Are you a:

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* 5. What is your experience level with Circuitscape?

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* 6. What field(s) best describes your work?

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* 7. Have you used Circuitscape to inform analyses that were published in a journal article(s) or report(s)?

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* 8. If yes, please include a citation or link to the paper(s) or reports(s), or if the list is long, please point us to your website (or Google Scholar, ResearchGate, etc. page):

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* 9. Has your work with Circuitscape ever been used to inform a specific conservation, resource management, or public health decision?

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* 10. If the answer to (9) is yes or "in progress", please describe the application, and the decision & decision-makers. If possible, please include information on how to find out more information (report or plan, website).

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* 11. What mode(s) of Circuitscape do you use the most? (multiple options can be selected)

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* 12. On which Operating System do you perform your Circuitscape runs?

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* 13. Do you use the Circuitscape plugin for ArcGIS?

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* 14. Please consider the largest problem you’ve solved on Circuitscape. For this problem, were you using the Raster (resistance map) or Network/Graph input format?

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* 15. For the same problem as in question (14), please describe the size of the input dataset. For a raster input file, provide the number of cells (rows X columns - estimates are fine), and the number of focal nodes. For a network/graph input file, please input the number of nodes.

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* 17. Have you conducted an analysis that took over 24 hours to run? If yes (and you have provided your email above), can we contact you about sharing the input file so we can use it to test the new Circuitscape software?

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* 18. Have you ever given up on an analysis because of problems with the software, or processing time/requirements? If so, can you describe the size of the problem (see size metrics in question 15), and any other useful details that can help us improve?

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* 19. In addition to improved speed/ability to solve larger problems, what features would like to see in the new release of Circuitscape? Describe briefly. Also, if you are familiar with “Omniscape”, you can include your interest in that tool here.

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* 20. Would you be interested in a Google Earth Engine plugin for Circuitscape?

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* 21. Are you a member of the Circuitscape Google group ?

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* 22. Can you suggest a great map or two for us to feature in a Circuitscape map gallery? We are interested in developing a collection that illustrate great design/cartography, and also captures the breadth of application types. If so, please add a link or citation below.

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* 23. If you provided your email (question 2), would you like to be added to our contact list to receive project updates?

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* 24. How did you find out about this survey?

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* 25. Do you have any additional comments, questions, or concerns related to Circuitscape?