Road mortality in freshwater turtles: identifying causes of spatial patterns to optimize road planning and mitigation

Langen, Tom A.; Gunson, Kari E.; Scheiner, C.A.; Boulerice, Jesse T.

doi:10.1007/s10531-012-0352-9

Cited by 48 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Based on the research conducted, it is likely that most species will not be impacted by a single factor. For example, among the studies to research freshwater turtles, two studies found that roads were a source of mortality due to wildlife-vehicle collisions [120,142] and two studies determined that the movement of turtles was physically hindered by the roads themselves [52,143]. Yet, it is the combination of both direct and indirect factors that will provide us with a better understanding of the barrier effects of roads on freshwater turtles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Road Density and Pattern on the Conservation of Species and Biodiversity

Bennett

2017

Curr Landscape Ecol Rep

129

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The development and presence of roads can reduce landscape permeability, lead to habitat loss, and increase habitat fragmentation. It is these fundamental changes in landscape structure that can have both direct and indirect impacts on the conservation of species and biodiversity. In this review, I examine 215 research studies conducted between 2011 and 2015 that explore the impacts of roads and road networks on a wide range of species. I divided these studies into four main categories: 1) the direct effects of roads on wildlife, 2) the indirect effects of roads on wildlife, 3) the consequences of road networks on wildlife populations, and 4) survey design and mitigation including both innovations and evaluations. I found that the majority of studies (38%) explored the indirect effects of roads on wildlife, including displacement, fitness consequences, and road crossing ability of wildlife. Nevertheless, despite there being a pressing need to understand how existing road networks impact wildlife and how increasing road density may influence local and regional population persistence, only 10% of the studies considered the implications of road networks on wildlife. However, there is an increasing trend towards the development of predictive models that can be used for a better understanding of road network impacts, assess landscape connectivity, and devise mitigation. This review also highlighted the continued need to devise and evaluate mitigation measures so transportation authorities and conservation practitioners may be better equipped to address the ecological implications of roads and proposed road development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Road Density and Pattern on the Conservation of Species and Biodiversity

Bennett

2017

Curr Landscape Ecol Rep

129

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“…Recommended speeds vary from slower than 30 kmÁh À1 (e.g., Gomes et al 2009;Carvalho and Mira 2011;Santos et al 2011), 45-55 kmÁh À1 (e.g., MacKinnon et al 2005Barrientos and Bolonio 2009;Guinard et al 2012) to greater than 55 kmÁh À1 (e.g., Meunier et al 2000;Antworth et al 2005;Barthelmess and Brooks 2010). While detection of small vertebrate prey may be more reliable at slower speeds (Jackson 2003;Langen et al 2012), MacKinnon et al (2005 drove at 40-60 kmÁh À1 for detecting snake and turtle roadkill, Sutherland et al (2010) drove at up to 56 kmÁh À1 for the detection of amphibian roadkill, and Brockie et al (2009) drove at between 50-100 kmÁh À1 to detect animals of at least "rat size." However, none of these studies experimentally established the detection rate at the chosen speed (Erritzøe et al 2003), and based on our results, it is likely that 30 kmÁh À1 was suboptimal and time was wasted.…”

Section: Speed Trialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildlife road traffic accidents: a standardized protocol for counting flattened fauna

Collinson

Parker

Bernard

et al. 2014

Ecology and Evolution

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Previous assessments of wildlife road mortality have not used directly comparable methods and, at present, there is no standardized protocol for the collection of such data. Consequently, there are no internationally comparative statistics documenting roadkill rates. In this study, we used a combination of experimental trials and road transects to design a standardized protocol to assess roadkill rates on both paved and unpaved roads. Simulated roadkill were positioned over a 1 km distance, and trials were conducted at eight different speeds (20–100 km·h−1). The recommended protocol was then tested on a 100-km transect, driven daily over a 40-day period. This recorded 413 vertebrate roadkill, comprising 106 species. We recommend the protocol be adopted for future road ecology studies to enable robust statistical comparisons between studies.

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“…; Langen et al . ; Cramer et al . ; Gunson & Teixeira ) seems logical considering that road mortality is a major impact of roads on wildlife and has stronger effects on population persistence than isolation (Forman & Alexander ; Jackson & Fahrig ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, for owls; Langen et al . , for reptiles; Valero, Picos & Álvarez , for ungulates), or segments along the same road but with different traffic volumes (e.g. Coelho, Kindel & Coelho , for mammals, birds and reptiles; Boves & Belthoff , for owls; Garrah et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using road-kill hotspots as priority locations for mitigation (e.g. Bissonette 2007;Huijser et al 2007;Coelho et al 2012;Langen et al 2012;Cramer et al 2014;Gunson & Teixeira 2015) seems logical considering that road mortality is a major impact of roads on wildlife and has stronger effects on population persistence than isolation (Forman & Alexander 1998;Jackson & Fahrig 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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When road‐kill hotspots do not indicate the best sites for road‐kill mitigation

Teixeira

Kindel

Hartz

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary The effectiveness of measures installed to mitigate wildlife road‐kill depends on their placement along the road. Road‐kill hotspots are frequently used to identify priority locations for mitigation measures. However, in situations where previous road mortality has reduced population size, road‐kill hotspots may not indicate the best sites for mitigation. The purpose of this study was to identify circumstances in which road‐kill hotspots are not appropriate indicators for the selection of the best road‐kill mitigation sites. We predicted that: (i) road‐kill hotspots can move in time from high‐traffic road segments to low‐traffic segments, due to population depression near the high‐traffic segment caused by road mortality; (ii) this shift will occur earlier for more mobile species because they should interact more often with the road; (iii) this shift can occur even if the low‐traffic segment runs through lower quality habitat than the high‐traffic segment. To test these predictions, we simulated population size and road‐kill over time for two populations, one exposed to a road segment with high traffic and the other to a road segment with low traffic. Our simulation results supported Predictions 1 and 3, while Prediction 2 was not supported. Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that, for new roads, road‐kill hotspots can be useful to indicate appropriate sites for mitigation. On older roads, road‐kill hotspots may not indicate the best sites for road mitigation due to population depression caused by road mortality. Direct measures of the road impact on the population, such as per capita mortality, are better indicators of appropriate mitigation sites than road‐kill hotspots.

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Road mortality in freshwater turtles: identifying causes of spatial patterns to optimize road planning and mitigation

Cited by 48 publications

References 50 publications

Effects of Road Density and Pattern on the Conservation of Species and Biodiversity

Effects of Road Density and Pattern on the Conservation of Species and Biodiversity

Wildlife road traffic accidents: a standardized protocol for counting flattened fauna

When road‐kill hotspots do not indicate the best sites for road‐kill mitigation

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