Understanding spatio-temporal patterns of deer-vehicle collisions to improve roadkill mitigation

Mayer, Martin; Nielsen, Jacob Coleman; Elmeros, Morten; Sunde, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113148

Cited by 37 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…coincided with typically lower tra c volumes(Mayer et al 2021b), and lower human activity in general.Unsurprisingly, the road density within an individuals' home range positively correlated with the number of road crossings in all study areas, which might affect the probability of animal road mortality.Importantly, within home range increases in road density led to much stronger increases in road crossings by hares in NG compared to hares in DK (this could not be assessed for SG due to a limited sample size).…”

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confidence: 87%

Influence of roads on space use by European hares in different landscapes

Mayer

Fischer

Blaum

et al. 2022

Preprint

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ContextRoads are ubiquitous in human inhabited landscapes, and can impact animal movement and population dynamics, due to barrier effects, road mortality, but also by providing resources at road verges. Thus, we need a better understanding of how roads, in interaction with seasonal changes in habitat structure, affect space use and habitat selection of the animals that persist in these landscapes.ObjectivesHere, we used the European hare (Lepus europaeus) as model species to investigate how human-induced changes in landscape composition – measured as road density, land cover type, and field size – affect home range location, seasonal habitat selection and road crossings, which are likely to correlate with wildlife-vehicle collision risk.MethodsWe collected >240,000 GPS positions of 90 hares from three populations (one in Denmark and two in Germany) that differed regarding agricultural intensification and road density. Using this data, we analyzed home range location and habitat selection (using step-selection functions) in relation to roads, habitat composition, and seasonality, and quantified how these factors affected road crossings by hares.ResultsIn comparatively more heterogeneous landscapes, hares established home ranges in areas with lower road densities compared to the surrounding area, but not in more simple landscapes. Moreover, hares generally avoided main roads and selected for minor roads during the vegetation growth seasons, especially in areas with comparatively less heterogeneous habitat structure. After accounting for main road density, the number of main road crossings was comparatively higher in simpler landscapes, and the number of daily main road crossing changed seasonally.ConclusionsOur findings emphasize that it is important to distinguish between road types, as different roads can have different impacts on animals (e.g. small roads providing foraging opportunities via roadside vegetation and large roads being avoided). Moreover, animals in comparatively more heterogeneous landscapes are better able to adjust their habitat selection to avoid main roads than animals inhabiting simpler landscapes. More generally, homogenous landscapes increase the space use requirements of animals, leading to increased probability of road crossings, which in turn might affect population dynamics via increased road mortality risk.

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confidence: 87%

Influence of roads on space use by European hares in different landscapes

Mayer

Fischer

Blaum

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Op druk bereden wegen bleek het aantal aanrijdingen hoger dan op rustige wegen. Eén van deze studies stelt echter wel vast dat er een bovengrens zit aan dit verband: wegen met intermediaire verkeersvolumes kennen de meeste aanrijdingen, in vergelijking met zowel wegen met lage als hoge verkeersvolumes (Mayer et al, 2021). In twee studies werd geen verband gevonden tussen het aantal aanrijdingen en het verkeersvolume.…”

Section: 32unclassified

Kansrijke maatregelen om aanrijdingen met hoefdieren te voorkomen op de Zeeweg (N200) : Een literatuuronderzoek

Grift

2022

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Maatregelen die aanrijdingen met herten kunnen voorkomen 4.1 Inleiding 4.2 Maatregelen gericht op aanpassing van het verkeer 4.2.1 Reduceren verkeersintensiteit 4.2.2 Reduceren toegestane rijsnelheid 4.2.3 Afsluiting weg voor gemotoriseerd verkeer 4.3 Maatregelen gericht op het beïnvloeden van de weggebruikers 4.3.1 Educatie en voorlichting 4.3.2 Waarschuwingsborden 4.3.3 Wilddetectiesysteem -in de wegberm 4.3.4 Wilddetectiesysteem -in het voertuig 4.3.5 Waarschuwingsmeldingen in de auto 4.3.6 Bermbeheer voor beter zicht weggebruiker 4.4 Maatregelen gericht op het beïnvloeden van het gedrag van de herten 4.4.1 Wildspiegels/-reflectoren 4.4.2 Akoestisch afschrikmiddel 4.4.3 Virtueel hekwerk 4.4.4 Olfactorisch afschrikmiddel 4.4.5 Aanbrengen wegverlichting 4.4.6 Herinrichting of verbetering van het leefgebied 4.4.7 Verminderen aantrekkelijkheid bermen voor fauna 4.5 Maatregelen gericht op het reduceren van populaties 4.5.1 Verkleinen populaties door afschot 4.5.2 Verkleinen populaties door geboortebeperking 4.6 Maatregelen gericht op het creëren van fysieke barrières 4.6.1 Faunarasters 4.7 Conclusies 5 Uitvoerbaarheid kansrijke maatregelen op de Zeeweg 5.1 Inleiding 5.2 Uitvoerbaarheid 5.2.1 Faunarasters, in combinatie met faunapassages 5.2.2 Wilddetectiesystemen in wegbermen 5.2.3 Verlagen van de toegestane rijsnelheid 5.2.4 Herinrichting of verbetering van het leefgebied 5.2.5 Het verminderen van de aantrekkelijkheid van bermen voor fauna 5.2.6 Het verkleinen van populaties door afschot 5.3 Conclusies 5.4 Aandachtspunten Geconsulteerde personen Bijlage 2 Verkenning factoren Wageningen Environmental Research Rapport 3161 | 5 Verantwoording Rapport: 3161 Projectnummer: 5200047096 Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR) hecht grote waarde aan de kwaliteit van zijn eindproducten.Een review van de rapporten op wetenschappelijke kwaliteit door een referent maakt standaard onderdeel uit van ons kwaliteitsbeleid.

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“…Finally, studies that considered multiple species found significant species-specific differences in the effect of moonlight on roadkill [22 . This heterogeneity can be caused by several factors, including behavioral differences among deer species, or different traffic volumes and patterns. Moreover, while some studies relied on time-series analysis [18] or spatiotemporal modeling [22] , others compared pooled data through null-hypothesis testing [14] . Another important but yet underestimated factor, that may have biased results from previous studies, is cloud cover.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for cloud cover and circannual variation puts the effect of lunar phase on deer-vehicle collisions into perspective

Cerri¹,

Stendardi²,

Bužan³

et al. 2022

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Although several studies have focused on the influence of moonlight over deer-vehicle collisions, findings have been inconsistent. This may be due to neglecting the effects of cloud cover, a major impediment to moon illumination, and circannual variation in both deer and human activity.We modeled how median cloud cover interacted with the illuminated fraction of the moon in affecting daily roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) roadkill in Slovenia (Central Europe). Data included nationwide roadkill (n = 49,259), collected between 2010 and 2019 on a mandatory basis by hunters as well-trained citizen scientists.Roadkill peaked for medium-to-high cloud cover, while decreased at nights with low or extremely high cloudiness. This pattern was more pronounced at full moon nights. However, the effects of moon illumination and cloud cover had a lower predictive potential than circannual variation.Our results suggest that moonlight could influence deer movements through compensatory foraging. However, at full moon nights collisions could then be modulated by weather conditions, affecting human movement and vehicle traffic, and likely also road crossing by roe deer.Moon illumination may indeed affect wildlife-vehicle collisions and roadkill, but its effects should be quantified as a function of cloud cover. Because collisions with roe deer, the most common road-killed large mammals in Europe, peak at nights with full moon and casted skies, and at some precise periods of the year, interactive warning signs that detect ground illumination at these periods may improve drivers’ awareness and increase their safety.

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Understanding spatio-temporal patterns of deer-vehicle collisions to improve roadkill mitigation

Cited by 37 publications

References 52 publications

Influence of roads on space use by European hares in different landscapes

Influence of roads on space use by European hares in different landscapes

Kansrijke maatregelen om aanrijdingen met hoefdieren te voorkomen op de Zeeweg (N200) : Een literatuuronderzoek

Accounting for cloud cover and circannual variation puts the effect of lunar phase on deer-vehicle collisions into perspective

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