Unfenced Reserves, Unparalleled Biodiversity and a Rapidly Changing Landscape

Epps, Clinton W.; Nowak, Katarzyna; Mutayoba, Benezeth

doi:10.1002/9781118568170.ch55

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…These limitations are not unique to Africa, since Rytwinski et al (2016) state that there is a paucity, in general, of scientifically rigorous studies on mitigation effectiveness. Furthermore, notwithstanding the evidence of the emerging threats to the Central African forests from industrial logging (Laporte et al, 2007), and therefore, declared a "conflict zone" (Laurance et al, 2014b), the proposed recommendations from the nine publications (Malcolm and Ray, 2000;Blom et al, 2004;Blake et al, 2007Blake et al, , 2008Clark et al, 2009;Laurance et al, 2009;Epps et al, 2015;Kleinschroth et al, 2015Kleinschroth et al, , 2016 should be given urgent priority for implementation and assessment.…”

Section: Quality Of Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Status of Road Ecology Research in Africa: Do We Understand the Impacts of Roads, and How to Successfully Mitigate Them?

et al. 2019

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Across Africa, transport infrastructure, including roads, is being built in over 30 planned development corridors that are likely to have major impacts on remaining natural habitats and associated biodiversity. Linked to this is the projected increase in human population size, which is predicted to grow by 1.3 billion people by 2050. Road ecology is the study of the ecological effects (both positive and negative) of roads and traffic but is perceived to be under-researched in Africa. In this context, we undertook a systematic review of road ecology research in Africa to understand the geographic and taxonomic scope of work undertaken to date, as well as recommendations for reducing the impacts of roads. We discovered 210 road ecology publications from Africa (published between 1954 and 2016), with most publications from the more affluent and politically stable regions (e.g., southern and East Africa). We found more publications than expected, with relevant research concealed within studies whose primary focus was on other topics. Most publications (1) focused on single species, and in particular on mammals (where chimpanzees and forest elephants were most studied); (2) were from southern Africa; and 3) were conducted in the grassland and savannah biome and the tropical and subtropical forest biome. Most publications examined the direct impacts of roads, in particular wildlife-vehicle collisions. Only one-third of the publications provided some form of recommendation for intervention to reduce or mitigate the impacts of roads, based on evidence from the publication. Most recommended interventions related to ecosystem or natural process recreation, as well as site and area stewardship. Gaps and future directions for research include rigorous testing of measures to mitigate the impacts of roads, inclusion of traffic monitoring in studies, understanding the impacts of upgrading roads, and exploring livelihood, economic and moral incentives and education and training as potential interventions for reducing the impacts of roads. Our review has highlighted the need for accelerating the study of the impacts of roads on natural habitats and biodiversity, in light of planned large-scale infrastructure development, and especially the study of appropriate mitigation measures that can be rigorously assessed and implemented before and during construction and upgrading of roads in Africa.

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Section: Quality Of Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Status of Road Ecology Research in Africa: Do We Understand the Impacts of Roads, and How to Successfully Mitigate Them?

et al. 2019

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“…comm. in Epps et al, 2015). Based on a mean estimated annual mortality before the speedbumps were installed of 14.5%, a relative reduction of 80% would have resulted in an estimated annual mortality of 2.9% after the installation of the speedbumps.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Fatal collisions with vehicles are more frequent on roads near and within than outside or further away from protected areas (Garrigia et al, 2012; Kioko et al, 2015; Akrim et al, 2019; Njovu et al, 2019). Road type also has an effect: bigger roads with a better surface, which allow for greater speed and larger vehicles, cause greater mortality (Drews, 1995; Caro et al, 2014; Epps et al, 2015; Collinson et al, 2019a). Species vary in their susceptibility, with larger, longer-lived animals with slower life histories being particularly vulnerable to collisions (Rytwinski & Fahrig, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The implications of vehicle collisions for the Endangered endemic Zanzibar red colobusPiliocolobus kirkii

Olgun

Mohammed²,

Mzee³

et al. 2021

Oryx

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Roads affect wildlife in a variety of negative ways. Road ecology studies have mostly concentrated on areas in the northern hemisphere despite the potentially greater impact of roads on biodiversity in tropical habitats. Here, we examine 4 years (January 2016–December 2019) of opportunistic observations of mammalian roadkill along a road intersecting Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park, Unguja, Zanzibar. In particular, we assess the impact of collisions on the population of an endemic primate, the Endangered Zanzibar red colobus Piliocolobus kirkii. Primates accounted for the majority of roadkill in this dataset. Monthly rainfall was not associated with roadkill frequency for mammals generally, nor for the Zanzibar red colobus. No single age–sex class of colobus was found dead more often than expected given their occurrence in the local population. The overall effect of roadkill on colobus populations in habitats fragmented by roads is unknown given the lack of accurate, long-term life history data for this species. Our findings suggest that mortality from collisions with vehicles in some groups of colobus is within the range of mortality rates other primates experience under natural predation. Unlike natural predators, however, vehicles do not kill selectively, so their impact on populations may differ. Although a comparison with historical accounts suggests that the installation of speedbumps along the road near the Park's entrance has led to a significant decrease in colobus roadkill, further actions to mitigate the impact of the road could bring substantial conservation benefits.

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“…Mortality can also be influenced by the characteristics of the road and roadside habitat. Roadkill mortality is higher on wider and more developed roads as they allow faster and more intense traffic (Caro et al., 2014; Epps et al., 2015). But roadkill mortality may also be higher on roads near forests (Pagany, 2020), and inside protected areas (Akrim et al., 2019) because of the greater biodiversity found in such areas (Chape et al., 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial patterns of roadkill within Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar

Ramsay,

Mercado Malabet,

Ravelonjanahary

et al. 2024

Austral Ecology

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Wildlife‐vehicle collisions can be a significant cause of mortality for animals with ranges that overlap roads. Not all species are equally affected by roads and thus conservation practitioners need empirical data to determine appropriate mitigation measures. However, there is a lack of data on how tropical animals, in particular those on the island of Madagascar, are affected by roads and vehicular mortality. In order to fill in this gap in the literature we investigated the ecological and spatial factors influencing roadkill observations along Route National 4 in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar. We observed 80 cases of roadkill along the highway belonging to at least 13 species, including the first published record of a lemur as roadkill. We also found that the density of roadkill was lower in the area between two speedbumps, suggesting these are an effective measure to mitigate wildlife‐vehicle collisions. These results showcase that even within protected areas of Madagascar animals are at risk of vehicular mortality but mitigation measures are possible. Given the high rates of endemicity coupled with vulnerability to extinction of many Malagasy fauna there is an urgent need for more research on road ecology in Madagascar.

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Unfenced Reserves, Unparalleled Biodiversity and a Rapidly Changing Landscape

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

Status of Road Ecology Research in Africa: Do We Understand the Impacts of Roads, and How to Successfully Mitigate Them?

Status of Road Ecology Research in Africa: Do We Understand the Impacts of Roads, and How to Successfully Mitigate Them?

The implications of vehicle collisions for the Endangered endemic Zanzibar red colobusPiliocolobus kirkii

Spatial patterns of roadkill within Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar

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