Species and demographic responses to <scp>wildlife‐friendly</scp> fencing on ungulate crossing success and behavior

Segar, Josiane; Keane, Aidan

doi:10.1111/csp2.285

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Also, fences are built for specific species and purposes, and often achieve those purposes, although their effects on non‐target species can create losers 10 . Nowadays, a relatively novel conservation tool aimed at mitigating these impacts is the use of wildlife‐friendly fencing 74 . However, there is still an incomplete understanding as to how this tool affects, the movement of animals, and whether it increases habitat connectivity across barriers and future studies must fill these gaps.…”

Section: Discusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10 Nowadays, a relatively novel conservation tool aimed at mitigating these impacts is the use of wildlife-friendly fencing. 74 However, there is still an incomplete understanding as to how this tool affects, the movement of animals, and whether it increases habitat connectivity across barriers and future studies must fill these gaps.…”

Section: Drawbacks Of Fencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Permeability of artificial barriers (fences) for wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Mediterranean mixed landscapes

Laguna

Barasona

Carpio

et al. 2022

Pest Management Science

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BACKGROUND: Fences are one of the most widespread manmade features in nature, constituting an artificial limitation to the movement of wildlife. To date, their effects on wildlife behavior have been understudied but this knowledge is required to design effective management procedures. Using 21 GPS-monitored wild boar, we evaluated the permeability of different types of fences and described temporal patterns and spatial hotspots for crossing events. A fence's permeability was inferred by the crossing success, i.e., the number of times that animals crossed a barrier vs the number of times they did not cross. The vulnerability of fences at watercourses was explored by assessing whether the frequency of crossings was higher around watercourse intersections than expected by chance.RESULTS: Well-maintained big game proof fences were the most effective in reducing successful wild boar crossings; they were, on average, 30% more efficient than livestock type fences. Crossing success was higher for males than females and during the food shortage period than in the food abundance period. The frequency of crossings around watercourses was higher than expected by chance, especially in moderately and well-maintained big game proof type fences.CONCLUSION: While no fence type was 100% wild boar proof, well-maintained big game proof fences substantially constrained the movement of boar. However, they are vulnerable around watercourses. Managing the conflicts in which this species is involved, such as shared infections and agricultural damage, would require fences that are even more effective than the ones analyzed here, ideally in conjunction with other preventive actions.

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Section: Discusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Drawbacks Of Fencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Permeability of artificial barriers (fences) for wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Mediterranean mixed landscapes

Laguna

Barasona

Carpio

et al. 2022

Pest Management Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This finding is similar to previous studies, which found the number of crossing attempts increased for some species after modifications to existing fences, such as the addition of smooth (non‐barbed) bottom wire or clips to elevate the bottom wire (Burkholder et al, 2018 ; Jones et al, 2018 , 2020 ). These wildlife‐friendly modifications with elevated bottom wire and smooth wire may also reduce the time for species to cross and increase the probability of successful crossings of wildlife, and effectively enclose livestock (Segar & Keane, 2020 ). We occasionally observed deer and nilgai use fence crossings at a full sprint; it seems likely the animals were familiar with and had previously used the crossing locations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal use of fence crossings in southwestern rangelands

Zoromski

DeYoung

Goolsby

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Net‐wire fencing built to confine livestock is common on rangelands in the Southwestern USA, yet the impacts of livestock fencing on wildlife are largely unknown. Many wildlife species cross beneath fences at defined crossing locations because they prefer to crawl underneath rather than jump over fences. Animals occasionally become entangled jumping or climbing over fences, leading to injury or death. More commonly, repeated crossings under net‐wire fencing by large animals lead to fence damage, though the damage is often tolerated by landowners until the openings affect the ability to enclose livestock. The usage, placement, characteristics, and passage rates of fence crossings beneath net‐wire fencing are poorly understood. We monitored 20 randomly selected fence crossings on net‐wire livestock fencing across two study sites on rangelands in South Texas, USA, from April 2018 to March 2019. We assessed the characteristics of fence‐crossing locations (openings beneath the fence created by animals to aid in crossing) and quantified crossing rates and the probability of crossing by all species of animals via trail cameras. We documented 10,889 attempted crossing events, with 58% ( n = 6271) successful. Overall, 15 species of medium‐ and large‐size mammals and turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo ) contributed to crossing events. Crossing locations received 3–4 crossing attempts per day on average, but the number of attempts and probability of successful crossing varied by location and fence condition. The probability of crossing attempts was most consistently influenced by the opening size of the crossing and season; as crossing size (opening) increased, the probability of successful crossing significantly increased for all species. Peaks in crossing activity corresponded with species' daily and seasonal movements and activity. The density and size of fence‐crossing locations were dependent on fence maintenance and not associated with vegetation communities or habitat variables. However, crossing locations were often re‐established in the same locations after fence repairs. This is one of the few studies to monitor how all animal species present interacted with net‐wire livestock fencing in rangelands. Our results will help land managers understand the impact of net‐wire livestock fencing on animal movement.

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“…Many studies have shown that there are a variety of effective options for such. Gaps can be installed to be selective for certain species (e.g., exclusion of rhinos by rock walls: Dupuis-Désormeaux et al, 2016; exclusion of livestock by tubular metal grills: Gates et al, 2012; selective fence designs: Laskin et al, 2020;Segar and Keane, 2020) or simply open for all species. Animals will incorporate them into their movement corridors over time (Dupuis-Desormeaux et al, 2018).…”

Section: Management Implications and Future Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Don't stop me now: Managed fence gaps could allow migratory ungulates to track dynamic resources and reduce fence related energy loss

et al. 2022

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In semi-arid environments characterized by erratic rainfall and scattered primary production, migratory movements are a key survival strategy of large herbivores to track resources over vast areas. Veterinary Cordon Fences (VCFs), intended to reduce wildlife-livestock disease transmission, fragment large parts of southern Africa and have limited the movements of large wild mammals for over 60 years. Consequently, wildlife-fence interactions are frequent and often result in perforations of the fence, mainly caused by elephants. Yet, we lack knowledge about at which times fences act as barriers, how fences directly alter the energy expenditure of native herbivores, and what the consequences of impermeability are. We studied 2-year ungulate movements in three common antelopes (springbok, kudu, eland) across a perforated part of Namibia's VCF separating a wildlife reserve and Etosha National Park using GPS telemetry, accelerometer measurements, and satellite imagery. We identified 2905 fence interaction events which we used to evaluate critical times of encounters and direct fence effects on energy expenditure. Using vegetation type-specific greenness dynamics, we quantified what animals gained in terms of high quality food resources from crossing the VCF. Our results show that the perforation of the VCF sustains herbivore-vegetation interactions in the savanna with its scattered resources. Fence permeability led to peaks in crossing numbers during the first flush of woody plants before the rain started. Kudu and eland often showed increased energy expenditure when crossing the fence. Energy expenditure was lowered during the frequent interactions of ungulates standing at the fence. We found no alteration of energy expenditure when springbok immediately found and crossed fence breaches. Our results indicate that constantly open gaps did not affect energy expenditure, while gaps with obstacles increased motion. Closing gaps may have confused ungulates and modified their intended movements. While browsing, sedentary kudu's use of space was less affected by the VCF; migratory, mixed-feeding springbok, and eland benefited from gaps by gaining forage quality and quantity after crossing. This highlights the importance of access to vast areas to allow ungulates to track vital vegetation patches.

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Species and demographic responses to wildlife‐friendly fencing on ungulate crossing success and behavior

Cited by 9 publications

References 32 publications

Permeability of artificial barriers (fences) for wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Mediterranean mixed landscapes

Permeability of artificial barriers (fences) for wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Mediterranean mixed landscapes

Animal use of fence crossings in southwestern rangelands

Don't stop me now: Managed fence gaps could allow migratory ungulates to track dynamic resources and reduce fence related energy loss

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