Discarded Bottles as a Cause of Mortality in Small Vertebrates

Benedict, Russell A.; Billeter, Mary C.

doi:10.1656/1528-7092(2004)003[0371:dbaaco]2.0.co;2

Cited by 24 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Small-mammal communities provide good models for studying such impacts because species in these communities generally use a wide variety of resources, have short generation times that allow for quick detection of environmental changes, may be permanent residents of a site, and usually respond to disturbances in a perceptible and measurable way (Steele et al 1984). Roads can impact smallmammal communities by: (1) creating an edge with different habitat characteristics (Garland and Bradley 1984, Tyser and Worley 1992, Bellamy et al 2000; (2) promoting the introduction of exotic species (Getz et al 1978, Vermeulen and Opdam 1995, Underhill and Angold 2000; (3) increasing stress and reducing survival (Benedict and Billeter 2004) through disturbance and contamination (Jefferies and French 1972, Williamson and Evans 1972, Quarles et al 1974; (4) blocking movement, causing genetic barriers and home range rearrangements (Oxley et al 1974, Garland and Bradley 1984, Mader 1984, Swihart and Slade 1984, 1990, Merriam et al 1989, Gerlach and Musolf 2000; and finally, (5) causing direct road mortality (Wilkins and Schmidly 1980, Ashley and Robinson 1996, Mallick et al 1998.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Road Zone Effects in Small-Mammal Communities

Bissonette¹,

Rosa²

2009

E&S

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Our study focused on the putative effects of roads on small-mammal communities in a high desert region of southern Utah. Specifically, we tested whether or not roads create adjacent zones characterized by lower small-mammal densities, abundance, and diversity. We sampled abundance of small mammals at increasing distances from Interstate 15 during two summers. We recorded 11 genera and 13 species. We detected no clear abundance, density, or diversity effects relative to distance from the road. Only two of 13 species were never captured near roads. The abundance of the remaining 11 small mammal species was either similar at different distances from the road or higher closer to the road. We conclude that although roads may act as barriers and possible sources of mortality, adjacent zones of vegetation often provide favorable microhabitat in the desert landscape for many small mammals.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Road Zone Effects in Small-Mammal Communities

Bissonette¹,

Rosa²

2009

E&S

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“…For example, along a highway in Virginia, a mean average of 2461 discarded beverage bottles were found per kilometre. Four per cent of these bottles had vertebrates (now dead) trapped inside for an average of 183.2 bottle-trapped vertebrates per kilometre [21]. Most of the bottle-trapped vertebrates were shrews, but deer mice, voles, salamanders and lizards were also present [21].…”

Section: Increased Wildlife Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Roadside ecology and epidemiology of tick-borne diseases

Haemig

Waldenström

Olsén

2008

Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases

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When humans, pets and livestock walk along roads, they may encounter questing ticks and tick-borne pathogens. A new field of environmental science called road ecology can help researchers study the complex epidemiology of tick-borne diseases in the unique roadside environment. This paper reviews some of the important ways that roads alter the distribution, abundance and behaviour of wildlife species that are involved in the enzootic cycles of tick-borne diseases. Compared to the surrounding landscape, roadways often constitute a different environment and hence there is no assurance that disease risk along roads will be the same as in the adjacent landscape, or that disease control measures taken in the surrounding landscape will work in the adjacent roadway. Since roadways have their own special ecological conditions, are used extensively by the human populace and play strategic roles in community security, we believe that roadways should be one of the habitats where tick-borne diseases are studied. It is amazing that at this late period of human history, epidemiological research along such important corridors has been almost completely ignored.

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“…1992, Debernardi et al. 1997, Benedict & Billeter 2004). However, discarded bottles are rarely found in habitats suitable for the Etruscan shrew.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Morris and Harper (1965) introduced a new approach to checking small mammal distributions: the examination of discarded bottles for the skeletons of perished mammals. Since its introduction, this technique has been widely used (Pagels & French 1987, Taulman et al 1992, Debernardi et al 1997, Benedict & Billeter 2004. However, discarded bottles are rarely found in habitats suitable for the Etruscan shrew.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New trapping method to survey for presence of the Etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus, the smallest mammal

Vogel¹

2012

Mammal Review

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The presence of the Etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus is hard to prove where its predator, the barn owl Tyto alba, is absent, because most live traps are not triggered by it. I therefore developed a new trapping method involving a feeding period of 1 week followed by one night of trapping using modified Trip Trap traps. I show here in detail how I caught four Etruscan shrews in 2010 with 24 traps in the Valley of Dora Baltea (Piemonte, Italy). In 2011, another 11 Etruscan shrews were caught in Piemonte and Lombardia, Italy, and Ticino, Switzerland. The proposed new method is useful for establishing the presence of the species.

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Discarded Bottles as a Cause of Mortality in Small Vertebrates

Cited by 24 publications

References 3 publications

Road Zone Effects in Small-Mammal Communities

Road Zone Effects in Small-Mammal Communities

Roadside ecology and epidemiology of tick-borne diseases

New trapping method to survey for presence of the Etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus, the smallest mammal

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