A review of ecological factors promoting road use by mammals

Hill, J. E.; DeVault, Travis L.; Belant, Jerrold L.

doi:10.1111/mam.12222

Cited by 67 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…Due to altered vegetation or resource provisioning, roads can serve as attractants to animals. For this reason, a recent review concluded that road use contributes to the risk of collisions with vehicles (Hill et al 2020). Furthermore, animal migration may also lead to the dispersal of infectious agents, which can have unpredictable effects and cause difficult-to-control diseases (Kirkwood and Sainsbury 1996).…”

Section: Flight From the Firementioning

confidence: 99%

Fires in nature: a review of the challenges for wild animals

Gutiérrez

Miguel

2021

EuroJEcol

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Animals living in the wild are exposed to numerous challenges, such as fires, that can lead to suffering. The impacts of fire have been studied in different branches of ecology, but studies of its effects on the welfare of individual animals remain scarce. The current review aims to synthesize a sample of relevant aspects regarding fire’s negative effects on wild animals. We mainly focus on the immediate impacts of fire on individuals. How animals respond to fire depends on many factors including their life history, evolutionary adaptations to fire, and individual stress coping styles, in addition to the characteristics of the fire. The fundamentals of carrying out future work for animal rescue and prevention of animal harms in fires were also explored. Fires may increase the risk of injury, disease, stress, and mortality for animals living in the wild, resulting in physiological and psychological harm, experiences of suffering, discomfort and pain, and long-term detrimental consequences. Wild animals can benefit from effective rescue, rehabilitation, and release during fires, and post-release monitoring must accurately evaluate their outcome success. The resulting information can be used to educate veterinarians, rehabilitators, and the public in the prevention of the suffering and deaths of as many animals as possible in future fire events, which ultimately benefits animal welfare. This review provides a better understanding of how fire compromises animal welfare, providing an example of how to use the knowledge gathered in animal ecology to examine the welfare of wild animals. It can help raise concern for the situation of wild animals as individuals, and to develop the field of welfare biology, by identifying promising future lines of research.

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Section: Flight From the Firementioning

confidence: 99%

Fires in nature: a review of the challenges for wild animals

Gutiérrez

Miguel

2021

EuroJEcol

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“…Understanding why WVCs occur requires knowledge of animal behavioral responses to roads and to vehicles (Figure II). Road avoidance can be caused by traffic noise, road surface, or the presence of vehicles [43,44], and is linked to the more indirect impacts (e.g., as barriers or filters to movement). Conversely, road attraction increases wildlife-vehicle interactions by prompting a crossing attempt or increasing road use due to thermoregulation, habitat or food resource availability, and dispersal or breeding behavior.…”

Section: Box 2 Wildlife-vehicle Collisions As a Threat To Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging opportunities for wildlife with sustainable autonomous transportation

Silva¹,

Calabrese²

2021

Preprint

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Autonomous vehicles (AV) are expected to play a key role in the future of transportation, introducing a disruptive yet potentially beneficial change for vehicle-wildlife interactions. However, this assumption has not been critically examined. Here, we introduce a new conceptual framework covering the intersection between AV technological innovation and wildlife conservation to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. We suggest future research within this framework to focus on developing robust warning systems and animal detection methods for AV systems, and to incorporate wildlife-vehicle interactions into decision-making algorithms. With large-scale deployment a looming reality, it is vital to incorporate conservation and sustainability into the societal, ethical, and legal implications of AV technology. We appeal for further debate and interdisciplinary collaborations between scientists, developers, and policymakers.

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“…Animal mortality in collisions with vehicles on roads is an effect of an increase in road infrastructure of global importance (e.g., Hels and Buchwald 2001;Forman et al 2003;Ruiz-Capillas et al 2015;Hill et al 2019;Schwartz et al 2020;Grilo et al 2021). Mortality rates on roads may be attributed to various factors related to the greater activity of animals in road corridors, such as crossing the roads from home ranges located in the neighborhood of roads or using a road as a feeding ground (Trombulak and Frissell 2000;Jaarsma et al 2006;Sabino-Marques and Mira 2011;Hill et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long Arm of Motorway—The Impact of Fenced Road on the Mortality of European Badgers

Nowakowski

Ważna

Kurek

et al. 2021

Environmental Management

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We studied the impact of the new fenced and accident-safe motorway on the mortality of European badgers Meles meles on local roads in western Poland in 2010–2015. We monitored the badgers mortality on local roads of three categories: main roads, secondary roads and county roads. The study was conducted before and after the opening of the motorway in 2012. We hypothesized that the mortality of badgers is lower due to traffic concentration on motorway. Ninety two badgers were killed in collisions with vehicles on all monitored roads. Mean number of killed badgers was lowest in 2010 before the motorway opening and the highest in 2012. The mortality of badgers on regional roads was highest after the opening of the motorway due to the changes in traffic on the access roads. Within the road network, the mortality of badgers was 5.8 individuals/10 km of road per whole study period with the highest rate on main roads 8.5 individuals/10 km. The badgers mortality was highest on county roads but it was lower than expected in relation to the road network density. The highest vehicle collision risk for badgers of both sexes occurred in June. Distance to human settlements was the only environmental factor that was positively related to badger mortality on roads. We conclude that the new motorway did not reduce the mortality rate of badgers on the adjacent roads because the status of local roads has changed and now they mainly function as access roads to the motorway.

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A review of ecological factors promoting road use by mammals

Cited by 67 publications

References 117 publications

Fires in nature: a review of the challenges for wild animals

Fires in nature: a review of the challenges for wild animals

Emerging opportunities for wildlife with sustainable autonomous transportation

Long Arm of Motorway—The Impact of Fenced Road on the Mortality of European Badgers

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