Permeability of roads and railways to vertebrates: The importance of culverts

Yanes, María del Carmen Machado; Velasco, Josè M.; Suárez, Francisco

doi:10.1016/0006-3207(94)00028-o

Cited by 215 publications

(168 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

146

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Despite the growing interest in measuring the effectiveness of crossing structures for fauna to increase road permeability (e.g., Yanes et al 1995;Clevenger et al 2001;Grilo et al 2008;Mata et al 2008), there is an uncertainty when determining the most appropriate method to best evaluate their effectiveness. In fact only one study has compared the passage delectability among the methods, as well the cost-benefit for each method (Ford et al 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increasing landscape permeability and minimizing animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs) are therefore key issues to be considered during road construction and improvement projects (Iuell et al 2003). The adaptation of incidental crossing structures built for other purposes (e.g., culverts to allow water passage under the roads) is one possible solution to restore animal movements across roads and its role has been widely investigated (e.g., Ascensão and Mira 2006;Clevenger et al 2001;Mata et al 2008;Taylor and Goldingay 2003;Yanes et al 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Track detection in varying substrates, such as marble dust or sand, is a common method because of its low cost and effort, and odorless condition (Yanes et al 1995), besides its ability to distinguish between most species (e.g., Cain et al 2003;Grilo et al 2008;Mata et al 2005;Ng et al 2004;Rodriguez et al 1996). However, it is difficult to differentiate between age classes (adults vs. juveniles) and counts may be underestimated when footprints do not leave species distinguishable tracks (e.g., wolf vs. dog, cat vs. wildcat).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Surveying drainage culvert use by carnivores: sampling design and cost–benefit analyzes of track-pads vs. video-surveillance methods

Mateus

Grilo

Santos‐Reis

2010

Environ Monit Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental assessment studies often evaluate the effectiveness of drainage culverts as habitat linkages for species, however, the efficiency of the sampling designs and the survey methods are not known. Our main goal was to estimate the most cost-effective monitoring method for sampling carnivore culvert using track-pads and video-surveillance. We estimated the most efficient (lower costs and high detection success) interval between visits (days) when using trackpads and also determined the advantages of using each method. In 2006, we selected two highways in southern Portugal and sampled 15 culverts over two 10-day sampling periods (spring and summer). Using the track-pad method, 90% of the animal tracks were detected using a 2-day interval between visits. We recorded a higher number of crossings for most species using video-surveillance (n = 129) when compared with the track-pad technique (n = 102); however, the detection ability using the video-surveillance method varied with type of structure and species. More crossings were detected in circular culverts (1 m and 1.5 m diameter) than in box culverts (2 m to 4 m width), likely because video cameras had a reduced vision coverage area. On the other hand, carnivore species with small feet such as the common genet Genetta genetta were detected less often using the trackpad surveying method. The cost-benefit analyzes shows that the track-pad technique is the most appropriate technique, but video-surveillance allows year-round surveys as well as the behavior response analyzes of species using crossing structures.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Surveying drainage culvert use by carnivores: sampling design and cost–benefit analyzes of track-pads vs. video-surveillance methods

Mateus

Grilo

Santos‐Reis

2010

Environ Monit Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It should be fine enough to detect the tracks of small vertebrates such as mice or amphibians, or even macroinvertebrates. The pass must be reviewed every 1-2 days and, if necessary, the material must be removed and extra material added (Yanes et al 1995;Rodríguez et al 1996;Baofa et al 2006). This method, combined with strips of soot-coated paper, as well as trapping and indirect evidence, such as scat identification, was used in Australia for the first time by Hunt et al (1987).…”

Section: Direct Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the contrary, Eriksson (2014) originally hypothesized that tree-clearing could be the factor behind the increase in moose and roe deer train collisions in Sweden, as early successional stages created after mowing provided attractive foraging opportunities for ungulates, but she found that it had no effect on the increase of WTCs in her "Before-After-Control-Impact", the so-called BACI design (Eriksson 2014). Finally, it is worth mentioning that vegetation removal may increase barrier effects for small vertebrates, as these do not cross open spaces due to their associated high predation risks (Hunt et al 1987;Yanes et al 1995).…”

Section: Habitat Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Railways as Barriers for Wildlife: Current Knowledge

Barrientos

Borda‐de‐Água

2017

Railway Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this chapter we provide practical suggestions, together with examples, to identify, monitor and mitigate railway barrier effects on wildlife, as this is considered one of the railways' greatest impacts. Railways can be both physical and behavioral barriers to wildlife movement, as well as disturbance to populations living close to them. Also, mortality is recognized as an important contribution to the barrier effect. However, the consequences of habitat loss, and fragmentation due to railways alone remain largely unexplored. Barrier effects have mainly been mitigated with wildlife passes, with the effectiveness of this tool being one of the most-studied topics in Railway Ecology. Methods formerly employed to monitor pass usage, such as track beds or video-surveillance, are now being replaced by molecular ones. Among the latter methods, genetic fingerprinting allows individual-based approaches, opening the door to population-scale studies. In fact, genetic sampling allows for the assessment of functional connectivity, which is closely linked to successful reproduction and population viability, variables not necessarily coupled with crossing rates. There is strong evidence that railway verges offer new habitats for generalist species and for opportunistic individuals, a point that deserves to be experimentally explored in order to find wildlife-friendly policies. Preventing animals from crossing (e.g., by fencing), should be reserved for collision hotspots, as it increases barrier effects. Instead, it has been shown that warning signals or pole barriers effectively reduce collisions without increasing barrier effects. In this respect, we argue that computer simulations are a promising field to investigate potential impact scenarios. Finally, we present a protocol to guide planners and managers when assessing barrier effects, with emphasis on monitoring and mitigation strategies.

show abstract

Do all roads lead to resistance? State road density is the main impediment to gene flow in a flagship species inhabiting a severely fragmented anthropogenic landscape

Westekemper

Tiesmeyer

Steyer

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim Connectivity conservation is ideally based on empirical information on how landscape heterogeneity influences species‐specific movement and gene flow. Here, we present the first large‐scale evaluation of landscape impacts on genetic connectivity in the European wildcat ( Felis silvestris ), a flagship and umbrella species for connectivity conservation across Europe. Location The study was carried out in the core area of the distributional range of wildcats in Germany, covering about 186,000 km 2 of a densely populated and highly fragmented landscape. Methods We used data of 975 wildcats genotyped at 14 microsatellites and an individual‐based landscape genetic framework to assess the importance of twelve landscape variables for explaining observed genetic connectivity. For this, we optimized landscape resistance surfaces for all variables and compared their relative impacts using multiple regression on distance matrices and commonality analysis. Results Genetic connectivity was best explained by a synergistic combination of six landscape variables and isolation by distance. Of these variables, road density had by far the strongest individual impact followed by synergistic effects of agricultural lands and settlements. Subsequent analyses involving different road types revealed that the strong effect of road density was largely due to state roads, while highways and federal roads had a much smaller, and county roads only a negligible impact. Main conclusions Our results highlight that landscape‐wide genetic connectivity in wildcats across Germany is strongly shaped by the density of roads and in particular state roads, with higher densities providing larger resistance to successful dispersal. These findings have important implications for conservation planning, as measures to mitigate fragmentation effects of roads (e.g., over‐ or underpasses) often focus on large, federally managed transportation infrastructures. While these major roads exert local barrier effects, other road types can be more influential on overall connectivity, as they are more abundant and more widespread across the landscape.

show abstract

Permeability of roads and railways to vertebrates: The importance of culverts

Cited by 215 publications

References 4 publications

Surveying drainage culvert use by carnivores: sampling design and cost–benefit analyzes of track-pads vs. video-surveillance methods

Surveying drainage culvert use by carnivores: sampling design and cost–benefit analyzes of track-pads vs. video-surveillance methods

Railways as Barriers for Wildlife: Current Knowledge

Do all roads lead to resistance? State road density is the main impediment to gene flow in a flagship species inhabiting a severely fragmented anthropogenic landscape

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About