Relative Risk and Variables Associated with Bear and Ungulate Mortalities Along a Railroad in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Dorsey, Benjamin; Clevenger, Anthony P.; Rew, Lisa J.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-57496-7_9

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…A general comparison of wildlife railway mortality and use from both studies suggests that carnivores (e.g., wolves, bears, foxes, racoons) are more adept at avoiding train collisions than ungulates and gallinaceous birds. Herbivores are generally struck more often by trains than carnivores, which could, however, be reflective of their relative abundance [31]. Our findings confirm that wildlife responses to railway effects vary among species [17,31,32], and species-specific investigations are important and much-needed due to very little existing railway ecology research.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Seasonal Use of Railways by Wildlife

Popp

Hamr

2018

Diversity

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Despite the rapid advancements in the field of road ecology, very little research has been done in railway ecology. Basic research, such as railway use by wildlife, is relatively undocumented, albeit very important in understanding the potential negative and positive effects of railways on wildlife and ecosystems. We provide one of the first studies documenting wildlife railway use using motion-triggered cameras along a 20 km stretch of railway in Ontario. Our objectives were to develop a much-needed baseline understanding of railway use by endemic wildlife species, investigate differences in frequency of use among species, compare diurnal versus nocturnal use, and determine if railway use by wildlife was uniform or spatially varied. We found a significant proportion of medium-to-large resident mammalian fauna and several avian species non-uniformly using the studied railway. Some species used the railway as a travel corridor, while others appeared to use it incidentally. Diel and seasonal patterns of use were apparent for many species. Our findings emphasize the importance of species-specific investigations of railway ecology. The collection of baseline information on railway use by wildlife is critical in view of the dearth of available data, and we highly encourage further research in all aspects of wildlife–railway ecology.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Seasonal Use of Railways by Wildlife

Popp

Hamr

2018

Diversity

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“…) and grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos horribilis ) in the United States (Waller and Servheen ) and Canada (Bertch and Gibeau , Dorsey et al. ). The negative effects of railways on wildlife might be worsened by road mitigation if it also increases the relative value of vegetation associated with transportation rights‐of‐way or carcasses stemming from collisions while displacing animals from previously occupied similar habitat on road verges, or funnels animals from crossing structures onto an adjacent railway.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite this reduction in highway mortality, no similar mitigation occurred on the railway and, since 2000, train collisions have become the leading source of mortality for grizzly bears in Banff (Bertch and Gibeau , Dorsey et al. ). Grizzly bears in this area occur in relatively low densities and exhibit low reproductive rates (Weaver et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildlife mortality on roads and railways following highway mitigation

et al. 2019

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Wildlife mortality caused by collisions with vehicles on roads is increasingly and effectively mitigated with exclusion fencing and crossing structures, but this solution potentially changes wildlife habitat use and distribution to increase the risk of mortality on adjacent, unmitigated railways. We investigated this potential side‐effect of mitigating the TransCanada Highway, which was completed in sections between 1983 and 2013, on the rate of wildlife mortality on the nearby transcontinental mainline of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Banff National Park. For each transportation class (highway and railway), we calculated collision rate as the number of collisions per year and km for two guilds (carnivores and ungulates) before and after mitigation occurred between 1981 and 2014. We constructed additional models for each transportation class and each of four species groups with adequate sample sizes: elk (Cervus canadensis), other ungulates (family Cervidae), bears (Ursus spp.), and coyotes (Canis latrans). Across guilds, mortality rates declined after mitigation, particularly on the highway (as expected) and most strongly for ungulates. For individual species groups, mortality on the railway for elk was best predicted by year and population size, without the inclusion of mitigation status on the adjacent highway. However, collision rates on the railway increased after mitigation for other ungulates (mostly deer, Odocoileus spp.) while also increasing over time. Collision rates on the railway increased over time for bears, but not in relation to highway mitigation. We found no evidence that the spatial distribution of collisions on the railway changed after highway mitigation, as might be expected from a funneling effect of crossing structures. Our results support and extend previous work demonstrating that exclusion fencing and wildlife crossing structures reduce wildlife mortalities on the highway at this location, and provide limited evidence, for other ungulates alone, that such mitigation may increase mortality on the adjacent railway. Similar analyses are warranted in other locations, particularly mountainous regions, where major transportation features often occur in close proximity.

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“…Westbound goods include grain and other agricultural products from the prairies that are transported in hopper cars, which are loaded from the top and emptied into shipping containers from the bottom. Faulty gates cause grain to leak from hopper cars, which is consumed by bears [44] and appears to increase the time they spend on the railway searching for spilled grain [41]. Railway mortality of other wildlife species has been documented since 1982, with reporting stringency that increased in 1996, and the first report of a grizzly bear strike in 2000.…”

Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal learning may contribute to both problems and solutions for wildlife–train collisions

Clair

Backs

Friesen

et al. 2019

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Transportation infrastructure can cause an ecological trap if it attracts wildlife for foraging and travel opportunities, while increasing the risk of mortality from collisions. This situation occurs for a vulnerable population of grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos ) in Banff National Park, Canada, where train strikes have become a leading cause of mortality. We explored this problem with analyses of rail-associated food attractants, habitat use of GPS-collared bears and patterns of past mortality. Bears appeared to be attracted to grain spilled from rail cars, enhanced growth of adjacent vegetation and train-killed ungulates with rail use that increased in spring and autumn, and in areas where trains slowed, topography was rugged, and human density was low. However, areas with higher grain deposits or greater use by bears did not predict sites of past mortality. The onset of reported train strikes occurred amid several other interacting changes in this landscape, including the cessation of lethal bear management, changes in the distribution and abundance of ungulates, increasing human use and new anthropogenic features. We posit that rapid learning by bears is critical to their persistence in this landscape and that this capacity might be enhanced to prevent train strikes in future with simple warning devices, such as the one we invented, that signal approaching trains. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Linking behaviour to dynamics of populations and communities: application of novel approaches in behavioural ecology to conservation’.

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Relative Risk and Variables Associated with Bear and Ungulate Mortalities Along a Railroad in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Cited by 9 publications

References 20 publications

Seasonal Use of Railways by Wildlife

Seasonal Use of Railways by Wildlife

Wildlife mortality on roads and railways following highway mitigation

Animal learning may contribute to both problems and solutions for wildlife–train collisions

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