Barrier effects of roads on an endangered forest obligate: influences of traffic, road edges, and gaps

Chen, Hsiang Ling; Koprowski, John L.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.03.017

Cited by 40 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Roads and traffic have numerous, diverse-and mostly negativeconsequences for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. These impacts include the destruction and degradation of habitat (Laurance et al, 2015a;Ware et al, 2015), fragmentation of wildlife populations and their dynamics (Forman and Alexander, 1998;Ascensão et al, 2016;Chen and Koprowski, 2016), direct impacts through collisions with wildlife (Collinson et al, 2014;Seo et al, 2015;Son et al, 2016), and secondary impacts through increased access by people to previously unattainable natural resources (Wilkie et al, 2000;Vanthomme et al, 2013;Laurance et al, 2014b). The science of road ecology is well-developed in North America, Europe and Australia Bennett, 2017), but is in its infancy in Africa (Bennett, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of Road Ecology Research in Africa: Do We Understand the Impacts of Roads, and How to Successfully Mitigate Them?

et al. 2019

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Across Africa, transport infrastructure, including roads, is being built in over 30 planned development corridors that are likely to have major impacts on remaining natural habitats and associated biodiversity. Linked to this is the projected increase in human population size, which is predicted to grow by 1.3 billion people by 2050. Road ecology is the study of the ecological effects (both positive and negative) of roads and traffic but is perceived to be under-researched in Africa. In this context, we undertook a systematic review of road ecology research in Africa to understand the geographic and taxonomic scope of work undertaken to date, as well as recommendations for reducing the impacts of roads. We discovered 210 road ecology publications from Africa (published between 1954 and 2016), with most publications from the more affluent and politically stable regions (e.g., southern and East Africa). We found more publications than expected, with relevant research concealed within studies whose primary focus was on other topics. Most publications (1) focused on single species, and in particular on mammals (where chimpanzees and forest elephants were most studied); (2) were from southern Africa; and 3) were conducted in the grassland and savannah biome and the tropical and subtropical forest biome. Most publications examined the direct impacts of roads, in particular wildlife-vehicle collisions. Only one-third of the publications provided some form of recommendation for intervention to reduce or mitigate the impacts of roads, based on evidence from the publication. Most recommended interventions related to ecosystem or natural process recreation, as well as site and area stewardship. Gaps and future directions for research include rigorous testing of measures to mitigate the impacts of roads, inclusion of traffic monitoring in studies, understanding the impacts of upgrading roads, and exploring livelihood, economic and moral incentives and education and training as potential interventions for reducing the impacts of roads. Our review has highlighted the need for accelerating the study of the impacts of roads on natural habitats and biodiversity, in light of planned large-scale infrastructure development, and especially the study of appropriate mitigation measures that can be rigorously assessed and implemented before and during construction and upgrading of roads in Africa.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of Road Ecology Research in Africa: Do We Understand the Impacts of Roads, and How to Successfully Mitigate Them?

et al. 2019

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“…Detailed studies relating the extent of angler effort through technology, such as trail counters, is still in its infancy. Other related fields have looked specific phenomena and were aided in data collection with traffic counters [27].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of a Public Fishing Area Determined by Vehicle Counters with Verification by Trail Cameras

Simpson¹

2018

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This study was performed in order to determine visitation at remote areas that would be unaffordable due to logistic reasons. Four Trafx TM vehicle counters, each programmed with different settings, were placed along the lone access road to remotely sense the daily use activities and count accuracy at the New Underwood Lake Public Water Access Area. Use was corroborated during daylight hours with game cameras. Data was stratified between weekdays/weekends due to differences between the two periods. Two counter settings, threshold and delay, were best when set at a value of 8, but a value of 16 for delay provided almost equal results. Overall, there were 38 counts of use per day for a total of 2318 over the 61 day period. This study demonstrated how vehicle counters, in combination with game cameras for verification, can aid managers for determining use in remote access areas. Future work may lead to identifying details for producing a surrogate to traditional angler use surveys.

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“…The legal minimum widths of interstate highway range from 26.2 m to 34.1 m (see Forman et al 2002: Chapter 2), and legal traffic speeds range from 50 to 70 mph (80-110 km/h; although individual vehicle speeds may be higher). Many species of terrestrial wildlife are not likely to attempt to traverse such wide, busy roads, especially in conjunction with other infrastructure barriers (e.g., Jersey concrete barriers, fences; Chen and Koprowski 2016).…”

Section: Site Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What's stopping you? Variability of interstate highways as barriers for four species of terrestrial rodents

et al. 2018

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Landscape features that form a barrier for one species may not be a barrier for others, depending on how each species perceives the feature. Barriers may not be equivalent, due to unique characteristics at different locations, which may ameliorate barrier effects. In this study, we employed population genetics techniques to investigate how four Rodentia species with differing life history characteristics (fox squirrels [Sciurus niger], eastern gray squirrels [Sciurus carolinensis], eastern chipmunks [Tamias striatus], and white‐footed mice [Peromyscus leucopus]) responded to interstate highways as barriers to movement at seven locations with differing site‐specific landscape features. For comparative purposes, we included control sites that lacked heavily trafficked roads. We detected genetic differentiation relative to interstate highways among the gray squirrels, chipmunks, and white‐footed mice, but signals for differentiation among those three species varied by site, suggesting that site‐specific features are important considerations for species responses to high‐traffic roads. Chipmunk and gray squirrel populations, two forest specialist species that avoid open areas, exhibited more genetic structure corresponding with highways than either white‐footed mice (a nocturnal generalist) or fox squirrels (a larger‐bodied specialist that traverses open areas more readily than the other species in this study). Fox squirrels did not exhibit genetic differentiation at any site, whereas gray squirrel study populations evinced no population differentiation at sites with bridges spanning the interstate highway. Chipmunks also exhibited population differentiation at two of the control sites, indicating that less obvious barriers in the landscape may be as important as roads for sensitive species. We interpreted variation in genetic differentiation of species across sites in the context of how interstate highway features (i.e., the presence and condition of drainage culverts and bridges near study sites), combined with species‐specific life history characteristics, influence the barrier potential of highways. Culvert presence generally corresponded with a low or nonexistent barrier effect; however, an open, large culvert (>8 m in height) may create a semi‐permeable barrier for species that avoid open areas. Bridge presence appeared to facilitate gray squirrel and chipmunk dispersal across highways.

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Barrier effects of roads on an endangered forest obligate: influences of traffic, road edges, and gaps

Cited by 40 publications

References 70 publications

Status of Road Ecology Research in Africa: Do We Understand the Impacts of Roads, and How to Successfully Mitigate Them?

Status of Road Ecology Research in Africa: Do We Understand the Impacts of Roads, and How to Successfully Mitigate Them?

Use of a Public Fishing Area Determined by Vehicle Counters with Verification by Trail Cameras

What's stopping you? Variability of interstate highways as barriers for four species of terrestrial rodents

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