Are major roads a barrier to small mammals?

Richardson, J. H.; Shore, Richard F.; Treweek, Joanna R.; Larkin, Scott

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1997.tb01982.x

Cited by 57 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Among the negative road impacts are situations of altered animal behaviour due to roads (reviewed in Trombulak and Frissell 2000), landscape impermeability to small (Richardson et al 1997;Gerlach and Musolf 2000) and larger mammals (Hansen 1983;Thiel 1985;McLellan and Shackleton 1988;Romin and Bissonette 1996) and increased amphibian mortality (Fahrig et al 1995;Carr andFahrig 2001, Cushman 2006). Physical and chemical conditions in areas subjected to road construction are altered (Trombulak and Frissell 2000) as are the hydrologic and geomorphologic attributes of a site (Jones et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Road effects on habitat richness of the Greek Natura 2000 network

Votsi¹,

Mazaris²,

Kallimanis³

et al. 2012

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The road network has both positive and negative ecological effects, and understanding these helps identify environmentally preferable solutions for transportation policy and planning. We investigated the relationship between road density and habitat type richness of Greek protected areas. We used digital vector maps of 214 sites included in the Greek Natura 2000 network. We calculated road density for the terrestrial part of each site and correlated it with habitat type richness. Average road density of protected areas (0.377 km/ km 2 ) was significantly lower than the national road density of Greece (0.446 km/km 2 ). We identified 32 sites that were not intersected by roads. These roadless sites were located at mountain tops, at islets, or in remote coastal zones. Overall we found no significant correlation between road density and habitat type richness. We suggest that the effect of road networks on habitat type richness is less apparent at landscapes with long history of human presence, because the landscape (and its habitat diversity) has coevolved with human activities over the past millennia. Our analysis provides a step towards quantifying the effect of road density on the diversity of habitats and consequently on species of conservation interest in international networks of protected areas such as the European Natura 2000 network.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Road effects on habitat richness of the Greek Natura 2000 network

Votsi¹,

Mazaris²,

Kallimanis³

et al. 2012

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“…Roads are physical barriers in that they offer no cover, thereby exposing individuals to the elements, and they may consist of a substrate that is physically difficult to move across (Richardson et al 1997, Tremblay and St. Clair 2009, Trombulak and Frissell 2000, Yamada et al 2009). Other studies have shown that landscape features as unobtrusive as dirt tracks can impede the movement of some species (Clark et al 2001, DeMaynadier and Hunter 2000, Develey and Stouffer 2001, Laurance et al 2004.…”

Section: Landscape Permeabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the majority of studies are species specific, such investigations have shown that wildlife species within every taxonomic group have been affected by the presence of road networks: plants and invertebrates (Munguira and Thomas 1992, Rao andGirish 2007, Severns 2008), fish (Park et al 2008, Singkran andMeixler 2008), amphibians (Glista et al 2008, Orlowski et al 2008, Sillero 2008, reptiles (Andrews and Gibbons 2005, Ashley et al 2007, Shepard et al 2008a, birds (Breuer et al 2009, Dunkin et al 2009, Orlowski 2008, and mammals (Richardson et al 1997, Rico et al 2007, Yale Conrey and Mills 2001. It is therefore not unreasonable to assume that where one or more species are affected by a road, there can be secondary or cascading effects on the other species within an ecosystem.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward understanding the ecological impact of transportation corridors

Bennett¹,

Smith²,

Betts³

2011

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“…Roads can impose major barriers to faunal movement, the intensity of the barrier being dependent on the intrinsic nature of the highway and verge (Bennett 1991a, Bright 1993, English Nature 1993, Mader 1984, Slater 1995, Vermeulen 1994. The effect of roads on specific mammals is well documented (Bennett 1991a, Clarke et al 1998, Huijser 1999, Korn 1991, Putman 1997Richardson et al 1997, Spellerberg 1998, Forman and Alexander 1998. Bennett (1991a) summarised three major factors which influence the permeability of roads: the width of the gap between suitable habitats (clearance), the relative mobility and behaviour of the animal, and the contrast between the 'barrier' (the road surface and sometimes the verge as well) and the adjacent habitat.…”

Section: Roads As Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In studies where small mammals have been translocated to the opposite side of the road they frequently return to their home side (Korn 1991, Kozel andFleharty 1979) and may do so at all times of the day and night irrespective of the traffic volumes (Richardson et al 1997) but such road crossings may merely indicate that home ranges are confined to just one side of the road. Other studies clearly indicate that the natural inclination of small animals is to avoid crossing roads, and to adopt roads as boundaries to their normal home range.…”

Section: Roads As Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of roads on wildlife in an intensively modified landscape

Underhill¹,

Angold²

2000

Environ Rev.

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This paper examines the ecological impacts arising from road networks and the potential ameliorating effects of roadside habitat in a highly modified landscape. A UK focus has been adopted to illustrate the effects of roads in a landscape with a long history of land use and intensive land management where the impacts and the potential for improvement are considerable.The impacts of roads in the ecological landscape include habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation. These interrupt and modify natural processes altering community structures and in the longer term, population dynamics. The large number of fauna fatalities each year from road traffic accidents is also of concern. Road verges can however also provide habitat opportunities and restore connectivity in an otherwise fragmented landscape offering potential to offset some of the adverse impacts of the existing road network. This review demonstrates that roads can present both ecological costs and ecological benefits although currently there is insufficient evidence to confirm some of the key theories which relate to the impact of the barrier effects (at population level) or the value of road verges as ecological corridors. In the absence of complete information the full extent of the problems and opportunities cannot be gauged and every effort should be made therefore to enhance the habitat adjacent to existing roads and to constrain further fragmentation caused by the development of the existing road network. Where further construction is unavoidable conditions should be enforced to prevent roads from reducing further the remaining habitats of conservation value and the connectivity between such habitats.

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Are major roads a barrier to small mammals?

Cited by 57 publications

References 10 publications

Road effects on habitat richness of the Greek Natura 2000 network

Road effects on habitat richness of the Greek Natura 2000 network

Toward understanding the ecological impact of transportation corridors

Effects of roads on wildlife in an intensively modified landscape

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