Search

We studied species composition and monthly patterns of roadkill of large and medium sized mammal species along 778 km of Slovenian highways in the period 2018–2020. Apart from providing the first comprehensive data on monthly patterns of roadkill as a proxy of wildlife-vehicle collisions at Slovenian highways and identifying linear collision hotspots (using KDE + methodology), we also tested the impact of acoustic deterrents installed at highway interchanges in late 2018 on WVC frequency. In the three-year period, we registered in total 2046 roadkill cases, with red fox (Vulpes vulpes), (N = 790; 39.6%), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) (N = 592; 28.9%), and European badger (Meles meles), (N = 423; 20.7%) being the most exposed species. Temporal collision patterns with evident species-specific monthly peaks reflect the behaviour and activity of these three species. We identified 268 KDE + hotspots, accounting for 48.5% of all roadkill and covering 9.3% (72.6 km) of the highway network. Recognising these hotspots is crucial for implementing mitigation measures to reduce WVC on Slovenian highways. However, our findings indicate no decrease in roadkill after installation of acoustic deterrents (2019–2020), therefore additional effort is needed to find adequate and effective approach for reducing roadkill and hence increasing road safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global dependency on railways as an economical and environmentally-friendly option for transportation is steadily increasing. Despite their numerous benefits, railways and train traffic can have negative impacts on wildlife, particularly through the risk of mortality due to collisions with trains, entrapment in rails, or electrocution at overhead powerlines. In most cases, these impacts are under-investigated, thus remain unmitigated. In this study, we describe patterns of rail-mortality of the local fauna in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa. In addition to exploring which species are most vulnerable to rail-mortality, we explore the role that seasonal variation, the daily activity patterns of the species, and the surrounding habitat type have on the occurrence of wildlife-rail-mortality. From 25 May 2020-29 March 2021, we conducted carcass surveys over three 5 km railway segments, corresponding to the three dominant habitat types in the nature reserve: open grassland, open woodland and mixed shrubland. Each 5 km segment of railway was surveyed during the wet season (November-March) and the dry season (May-September) to account for seasonal variation. We recorded 99 rail-kills, of which 29% were mammals, 26% were birds, 26% were reptiles, and 18% were amphibians. Mammal carcasses were found most frequently in the dry season, while amphibians were only detected in the wet season. Amphibian carcasses were all nocturnal species, while diurnal species dominated the bird carcasses found. Finally, most rail-kill carcasses were found in mixed shrublands, while open woodlands had the lowest frequency of rail-kill. The detrimental impacts of railway-mortality on wildlife may be more pronounced in areas of high conservation value, such as nature reserves, and it is essential to study and mitigate these impacts, in order to foster successful coexistence of wildlife and humans in the landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife‐vehicle collisions have significant consequences for both humans and animals, including injuries, deaths, and vehicle damage. Therefore, analysis of accident data is important for planning countermeasures and appropriate wildlife management. In this research field, roadkill incidents have been extensively studied in many taxa, while railway accidents have received less attention despite their obvious impact on wildlife. Here we applied a Bayesian state‐space model to 31 years of collision data, both on railways and on roads, collected by the Ministry of the Environment in Hokkaido prefecture, Japan, to reveal the spatiotemporal dynamics of accidents for white‐tailed eagles, Steller's sea eagles, and red‐crowned cranes, for which over hundred accidents were reported in the data. Our analysis suggested that the mean annual number of individuals collected per collision site across Hokkaido increased 47,377‐fold in the white‐tailed eagle, 40,277‐fold in the Steller's sea eagle, and 50,584‐fold in the red‐crowned crane between 1991 and 2021. There have been concerns about the impact of traffic accidents on the population dynamics of these endangered birds, but no formal analyses have been conducted. Our analysis showed numerically that the negative impact has been increasing annually. These results suggest that long‐term data accumulation over large spatial scales allows us to understand the dynamics of accidents and predict potential factors underlying collision risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an environment increasingly dominated by roads, wildlife crossing structures (WCS) have been installed to decrease wildlife mortality and improve habitat linkages. In South Texas, vehicle collisions have been a major mortality source for the endangered ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). To mitigate threats to this species, eight WCS, along with associated fencing, were strategically placed along Farm‐to‐Market Road 106 (FM106), which passes through ocelot habitat. We assessed the rate of on‐roadway crossings and WCS use by GPS‐collared animals before, during, and after WCS installation using camera traps to verify WCS use. Because of the rarity of ocelots in this region, we supplemented ocelot data with data from bobcats (Lynx rufus), a similarly sized felid with slightly more general habitat preferences. Thirty‐five animals, 30 bobcats, and 5 ocelots were tracked using GPS collars between 2013 and 2021. We observed a decline in the total number of crossings and on‐roadway crossings of FM106 for both ocelots and bobcats over the duration of the study, despite controlling for factors such as an individual animal's proximity to FM106. There were 37 documented crossings using WCS by GPS‐marked bobcats while their collars were active. However, the rate of on‐roadway crossings during the post‐construction period was still higher than the WCS use rate for both species. Animals were more likely to make on‐roadway crossings during nighttime especially during unusually bright nights. While controlling for other factors, both species moved more quickly when making on‐roadway crossings compared to WCS crossings or noncrossing intervals but moved more slowly when traffic levels were higher than expected for that time of day. Animals may take years to acclimate to the presence of WCS, suggesting that the use of these structures may increase over time. Additional fencing could further help limit high‐risk road encounters by ocelots in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife crossing structures and road calming measures are frequently implemented to improve habitat connectivity and mitigate the risks of wildlife–vehicle collisions on roads. Although Southeast Asia is a known biodiversity hotspot, majority of studies assessing effectiveness of such structures were conducted outside the region. Existing studies also tended to be non‐comparative and focused on crossing structures in silo. We addressed this gap by simultaneously surveying and comparing the usage frequency of mammals across three crossing types—culverts, roads and rope bridges—along a road surrounded by forests in Singapore. This allowed us to evaluate the preferences of mammals, assess usage patterns and investigate factors influencing the use of different crossing types. Using camera traps and closed‐circuit televisions, we documented 1133 independent crossing events across a 9‐month study period from March to November 2021. Fourteen mammal species were detected across all crossing types, with wild boar (Sus scrofa) being the most prevalent species (68.2%). Locally critically endangered species such as the Malayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura), Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica), and Raffles' banded langur (Presbytis femoralis femoralis) were also recorded to use culverts, roads, and rope bridges for crossings, respectively. Although many species used multiple crossing types, most species had a preferred crossing method. Between culverts and roads, factors that influenced crossing preferences included group size for wild boars and time of day and presence of fences for other mammals. Even though such culverts were intended for drainage, they were still widely used by mammals. Overall, all three crossing methods were crucial in facilitating the movement of animals between habitats. Thus, a variety of infrastructure and measures to accommodate the diversity of wildlife moving across forest patches in a fragmented landscape is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, road fatalities affect wildlife populations and ecosystems, leading to ecological imbalances, economic losses, and safety hazards for both animals and humans. However, the emotional toll on humans is less well understood. This research explores tourists' responses to roadkill, using emotional geography as the overarching framework, and focusing on the island state of Tasmania in Australia. Tasmania is known for its diverse and abundant native wildlife, as well as the unfortunate distinction of having Australia's highest rate of wildlife fatalities caused by vehicle collisions, commonly referred to as roadkill. A mixed‐method questionnaire asked respondents to share emotions, and we then considered their relationships to socio‐demographic attributes. Around 97% of respondents encountered roadkill during their stays, and 63% encountered live animals on or near the road. Tourists identified sadness as the most felt emotion when confronted with the consequences of wildlife–vehicle collisions. Anger and disgust were also experienced, primarily because of the unpleasant sight of roadkill and the realisation that animals suffered. Women reported being more negatively affected than men. Tourists who had visited to see wildlife were more affected than those who had not. Analysis leads to the conclusion that unplanned, sporadic, unexpected, and confronting encounters with dead animals detract from the tourism experience for most, especially encounters with wildlife was anticipated as a positive experience on tour. Such findings have wider implications for those working in the tourism industry in mainland Australia, Canada, and South Africa, where roadkill is also problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Wildlife–vehicle collisions continue to threaten Tasmanian wildlife and cause animal welfare issues. As Tasmanian residents often consider roadkill as part of the landscape, tourists' attitudes and behaviour could provide new insights when seeking solutions. Using a self-reporting questionnaire, we found that most tourists view wildlife–vehicle collisions as a serious issue, and humans must take responsibility for minimising the problem. Even though residents seem hardened to roadkill, they appear to play an important role in communicating the issue to tourists. Tourists express a willingness to adopt mitigation strategies, such as altering travelling speed or travelling times. However, this research reveals that the importance of safely removing carcasses and checking on the victims and their surviving young is not fully understood. Tourists indicated that they do not know what to do or whom to contact when confronted with injured, surviving, or deceased wildlife. We suggest that the tourism industry, alongside other stakeholders, can play a significant role in raising awareness and education, as well as inform campaigns tailored to Tasmanian residents. The surge in wildlife–vehicle collision research has not yet translated into a substantial decrease in animal fatalities. In line with the prevailing view, we suspect that drivers' behaviour may be the most crucial element. We address a research gap in drivers' attitudes towards and behaviour in response to wildlife–vehicle collisions from a tourist perspective. We designed a questionnaire to examine tourists' attitudes and behaviour in relation to wildlife–vehicle collisions while driving in Tasmania. We found that the respondents' sociodemographic attributes had minimal effect on their practical responses to roadkill. Tourists consider wildlife–vehicle collisions a serious problem for both biodiversity loss and animal welfare reasons, and their willingness to change their behaviour was high. However, many respondents did not stop to check for surviving pouch young. This inaction resulted either from overlooking the importance of pouch checking or a lack of knowledge on what action needed to be taken. There may also be a lack of understanding that roadkill left on the road leads to secondary roadkill incidents. Even though tourist behaviour does not automatically represent residents' behaviour, these findings will help to improve and tailor educational approaches to rectify the driver awareness/behaviour gap for both tourists and residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) with large animals are estimated to cost the USA over 8 billion USD in property damage, tens of thousands of human injuries and nearly 200 human fatalities each year. Most WVCs occur on rural roads and are not collected evenly among road segments, leading to imbalanced data. There are a disproportionate number of analysis units that have zero WVC cases when investigating large geographic areas for collision risk. Analysis units with zero WVCs can reduce prediction accuracy and weaken the coefficient estimates of statistical learning models. This study demonstrates that the use of the synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE) to handle imbalanced WVC data in combination with statistical and machine-learning models improves the ability to determine seasonal WVC risk across the rural highway network in Montana, USA. An array of regularized variables describing landscape, road and traffic were used to develop negative binomial and random forest models to infer WVC rates per 100 million vehicle miles travelled. The random forest model is found to work particularly well with SMOTE-augmented data to improve the prediction accuracy of seasonal WVC risk. SMOTE-augmented data are found to improve accuracy when predicting crash risk across fine-grained grids while retaining the characteristics of the original dataset. The analyses suggest that SMOTE augmentation mitigates data imbalance that is encountered in seasonally divided WVC data. This research provides the basis for future risk-mapping models and can potentially be used to address the low rates of WVCs and other crash types along rural roads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Wildlife crossing structures and road calming measures are frequently implemented to improve habitat connectivity and mitigate the risks of wildlife–vehicle collisions on roads. Although Southeast Asia is a known biodiversity hotspot, majority of studies assessing effectiveness of such structures were conducted outside the region. Existing studies also tended to be non‐comparative and focused on crossing structures in silo. We addressed this gap by simultaneously surveying and comparing the usage frequency of mammals across three crossing types—culverts, roads and rope bridges—along a road surrounded by forests in Singapore. This allowed us to evaluate the preferences of mammals, assess usage patterns and investigate factors influencing the use of different crossing types. Using camera traps and closed‐circuit televisions, we documented 1133 independent crossing events across a 9‐month study period from March to November 2021. Fourteen mammal species were detected across all crossing types, with wild boar (Sus scrofa) being the most prevalent species (68.2%). Locally critically endangered species such as the Malayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura), Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica), and Raffles' banded langur (Presbytis femoralis femoralis) were also recorded to use culverts, roads, and rope bridges for crossings, respectively. Although many species used multiple crossing types, most species had a preferred crossing method. Between culverts and roads, factors that influenced crossing preferences included group size for wild boars and time of day and presence of fences for other mammals. Even though such culverts were intended for drainage, they were still widely used by mammals. Overall, all three crossing methods were crucial in facilitating the movement of animals between habitats. Thus, a variety of infrastructure and measures to accommodate the diversity of wildlife moving across forest patches in a fragmented landscape is recommended.

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although roads are central to human society, they have many negative environmental impacts and create risk for traveling motorists. Our aim was to evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution of ungulate-vehicle collision (UVC) hotspots in response to major road construction. We examined two different locations and scales in the province of Alberta, Canada: (1) a highway bypass adjacent to a large city with 4.5 km of wildlife mitigation measures (wildlife fencing and two underpasses) and (2) 55 km of rural highway that was converted from a two-lane to a four-lane divided highway. Using government police collision and carcass data (2000-2021), beforeafter and control-impact analyses were used to assess changes in UVC rates. Our approach is novel in that we tested the paired use of a clustering method known as kernel density estimation plus and a spatiotemporal stepwise modification of this method to monitor UVC hotspots. By monitoring UVCs over space and time, we could identify stable vs. ephemeral UVC hotspots, a fence-end effect, and a barrier effect due to traffic volume, and we could explore hotspot stability before and after construction. The wildlife mitigation measures along the highway bypass resulted in 86% fewer UVCs compared to an unmitigated highway. At a larger scale, however, net benefits were affected by road density. The construction of a four-lane divided highway with no wildlife mitigation measures and an increase in the posted speed limit resulted in a slight increase in UVCs and the reemergence of the majority of historical UVC hotspots. Our analysis highlighted the need to incorporate wildlife considerations at a variety of scales throughout the transportation planning and mitigation evaluation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: To investigate the major impact of roads on wildlife, most studies focus on hot-spots of wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) to identify areas in need of mitigation measures. However, on road stretches where the frequency of WVC is low, a question arises: is this because those locations are 'safe’ places for wildlife to cross the road with little risk of collisions; or is it because individuals avoid approaching and crossing the road in these locations? Objectives: In this study, we addressed this gap by evaluating how roe deer crossings are related to WVC risk across the road network. Methods: We used 56 076 WVC locations between 2013 and 2017 to predict the spatiotemporal risk zones in response to environmental, road-related and seasonal predictors using Species-Distribution Modelling (SDM). We compared the predictive WVC risk to the location of 20 744 road crossing by 46 GPS-collared roe deer individuals. Results: We found that the risk of WVC with roe deer tends to be higher on federal roads that are present in a density of approximate 2.2 km/km2 and surrounded by broad-leafed forests and demonstrate that SDMs can be a powerful tool to predict the risk of WVC across the road network. Roe deer crossed roads more frequently in high WVC risk areas. Temporally, the number of WVC changed throughout the year, which can be linked to roe deer movement patterns rather than landscape features. Within this study, we did not identify any road segments that were a complete barrier to roe deer movement. Conclusions: The absence of complete barriers to roe deer movement detected in the present study, might be due to the low spatial variation of the landscape, coupled with the high individual variation in movement behaviour. By applying our approach at greater spatial scales and in other landscape contexts, future studies can continue to explore the potential barrier impacts of roads on landscape connectivity. Exploring the relationship between crossing activity and collision risk can improve one’s ability to correctly identify road stretches that require mitigation measures to improve connectivity versus reduce collisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife mortality due to collisions with vehicles (roadkill) is one of the predominant negative effects exerted by roads on many wildlife species. Reducing roadkill is therefore a major component of wildlife conservation. Roadkill is affected by various factors, including road attributes and traffic volume. It is theorized that the effect of traffic volume on roadkill probability should be unimodal. However, empirical evidence for this theory is lacking. Using a large‐scale roadkill database of 18 wildlife species in Israel, encompassing 2846 km of roads over 10 years, we explored the effects of traffic volume and road attributes (e.g., road lighting, verge vegetation) on roadkill probability with a multivariate generalized linear mixed model. A unimodal effect of traffic volume was identified for the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), whereas 5 species demonstrated a novel quadratic U‐shaped effect (e.g., golden jackal [Canis aureus]). Four species showed a negative linear effect (e.g., wild boar [Sus scrofa]). We also identified varying effects of road attributes on roadkill. For instance, road lighting and roadside trees decreased roadkill for several species, whereas bus stops and concrete guardrails led to increased roadkill. The theorized unimodal effect of traffic volume may only apply to large, agile species, and the U‐shaped effect could be related to intraspecies variability in traffic avoidance behavior. In general, we found that both high‐traffic and low‐traffic roads can pose a high mortality risk for wildlife. It is therefore important to monitor roadkill on low‐traffic roads and adapt road attributes to mitigate roadkill. Road design for effective roadkill mitigation includes reducing the use of concrete guardrails and median barriers where possible and avoiding dense bushes in verge landscaping. These measures are complemented by employing wildlife detection systems, driver warnings, and seasonal speed reduction measures on low‐traffic roads identified as roadkill hotspots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife roadkill studies need to cope with a mismatch among recorded carcasses and actual road mortality, because of the existence of three biases: crippling, carcass‐persistence, and observer bias. Here, we focused on the often overlooked crippling bias, suggesting that it should be called carcass‐location bias and disentangling the related three possible outcomes for affected wildlife: injured animal escaping and dying away from road, animal rebounding off the road after vehicle collision, and animal retained by vehicle. Such outcomes can probably be affected by different species traits, and, in order to make a first evaluation of this hypothesis, we opportunistically collected 150 direct observations on the ultimate fate of roadkilled vertebrates. Approximately one third of them were affected by carcass‐location bias, so extremely difficult to be recorded through typical roadkill surveys, entailing a considerable and overlooked source of error for roadkill studies and mitigation actions based on them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mortality of wildlife on roadways is a major conservation concern worldwide. Amphibians and reptiles are especially vulnerable to vehicular collisions, and this is of particular concern in the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve (Ontario, Canada) where several species are near their geographic limits of distribution and designated as species-at-risk. We completed regular surveys (n = 270) of two major highways in the Reserve, each slightly less than 40 km in length. All observations of wildlife-vehicle collisions were documented for two years on each road, including 18,278 frogs, turtles, and snakes. We used kernel density estimation to map relative magnitude of this mortality and built a suite of regression tree models to assess the influence of landcover and other habitat factors on roadkill at two scales (1 ha and 20 ha). Sample size was large enough to conduct species-level analyses for Chrysemys picta marginata (midland painted turtle) and Nerodia sipedon (northern watersnake). Spatial clustering of roadkill was evident on both roads and for all taxa. However, the extent of clustering varied between the two roadways due to differences in landcover pattern and clustering was more discrete for frogs and turtles than for snakes. For frogs, turtles, and northern watersnakes we found that elevated levels of mortality were positively associated with the amount of wetland and open water in adjacent areas as well as the proximity of water features. However, mortality locations for other species of snakes were more closely associated with upland habitat types. While some generalities emerge from our study, the variation also suggests that caution be exercised when attempting to extend results to different taxa and roadways, especially since these results may vary with scale. Nonetheless, scale-related differences can be informative for identifying the location of roadkill mitigation efforts and we illustrate how such an approach could be implemented for snakes that exhibit less discrete clustering of mortality.

The localized clustering of wildlife vehicle‐strike in space and time, often called 'hot spots', are commonly used to guide placement of road mitigation installations. We interrogated koala vehicle‐strike data across a 20‐year period between 1997 and 2016, examining trends in identified hot spots. We found that hot spots were not static and decline or emerge in line with the resultant pressures (e.g., from development and associated traffic increases) being exerted on koala populations within the surrounding landscape. We suggest that there is likely to be a relationship between hot spots waning over time and localized extinction of koalas. We feel strategies that solely focus on hot spot intervention will do little to halt and reverse the significant decline in the koala population across South East Queensland because they are almost always retrospective. It is imperative that regional wildlife movement solutions, around and across roads, are appropriately planned and implemented ahead of time (i.e., during initial construction/developmental expansion), if they are to serve as effective mitigation for remaining local koala population across South East Queensland. We caution against recommending mitigation based solely on historical vehicle‐strike data without considering contemporary population, movement and behavioural data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A critical step to design wildlife mitigating measures is the identification of roadkill hotspots. However, the effectiveness of mitigations based on roadkill hotspots depends on whether spatial aggregations are recurrent over time, spatially restricted, and most importantly, shared by species with diverse ecological and functional characteristics. We used a functional group approach to map roadkill hotspots for mammalian species along the BR-101/North RJ, a major road crossing important remnants of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We tested if functional groups present distinct hotspot patterns, and if they converge into the same road sectors, in that case, favoring optimal mitigating actions. Roadkill rates were monitored and recorded between October/2014 and September/2018 and species were classified into six functional groups based on their home range, body size, locomotion mode, diet, and forest-dependency. Hotspots along the roads were mapped for comparison of spatial patterns between functional groups. Results demonstrated that the roadkill index varied idiosyncratically for each functional group throughout the months and that no group presented seasonality. Seven hotspots were shared by two or more functional groups, highlighting the importance of these road stretches to regional mammal fauna. Two of the stretches are associated with aquatic areas extending from one side of the road to the other, and the remaining are connected to patches of native vegetation on both sides. This work brings a promising approach, yet hardly used in ecological studies on roads to analyze roadkill dynamics, assigning more importance to ecological instead of taxonomical characteristics, normally used to identify spatiotemporal patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses virtual simulations to examine the interaction between autonomous vehicles (AVs) and their surrounding environment. A framework was developed to estimate the environment's complexity by calculating the real-time data processing requirements for AVs to navigate effectively. The VISTA simulator was used to synthesize viewpoints to replicate the captured environment accurately. With an emphasis on static physical features, roadways were dissected into relevant road features (RRFs) and full environment (FE) to study the impact of roadside features on the scene complexity and demonstrate the gravity of wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) on AVs. The results indicate that roadside features substantially increase environmental complexity by up to 400%. Increasing a single lane to the road was observed to increase the processing requirements by 12.3–16.5%. Crest vertical curves decrease data rates due to occlusion challenges, with a reported average of 4.2% data loss, while sag curves can increase the complexity by 7%. In horizontal curves, roadside occlusion contributed to severe loss in road information, leading to a decrease in data rate requirements by as much as 19%. As for weather conditions, heavy rain increased the AV's processing demands by a staggering 240% when compared to normal weather conditions. AV developers and government agencies can exploit the findings of this study to better tailor AV designs and meet the necessary infrastructure requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial aggregation patterns of wildlife-vehicle collisions are used to inform where mitigation measures are most needed. Based on 10 years of observations of vertebrate roadkill on the Ring Changbai Mountain Scenic Road, the spatial distribution characteristics of roadkill incidence were analyzed in this study. Using the field survey method to investigate roadkill incidents and their influencing factors, we applied generalized linear mixed modeling (GLMM) for model selection and constructed roadkill models for different taxa groups. The spatial distribution patterns of roadkill hotspots vary among different taxa and exhibit a unimodal or multimodal distribution. The road section along a river and with a minimal distance between the road and the water has a high incidence of roadkill. The density of roadkill for various taxa decreases as the distances from rivers, bridges, and ponds increases. However, there appears to be no correlation between the density of bird roadkill and any factors. Finally, wildlife crossing facilities and guidance measures aimed at reducing the incidence of roadkill and enhancing the selection of routes and wildlife crossing structures in the area are formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although several studies have focused on the influence of moonlight on deer–vehicle collisions, findings have been inconsistent. This may be due to neglect of the effects of cloud cover, a major impediment to moon illumination and circannual variation in both deer and human activity.We assessed how median cloud cover interacted with the illuminated fraction of the moon in affecting daily roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) roadkill in Slovenia (Central Europe). Data included nationwide roadkill (n = 49,259), collected between 2010 and 2019 by hunters, as required by law.Roadkill peaked under medium to high cloud cover and decreased during nights with low or extremely high cloudiness. This pattern was more pronounced on nights with a full moon. However, the effects of moon illumination and cloud cover had a lower predictive potential than circannual variation, as collisions clearly peaked in April/May, July and August/September.Our results suggest that moonlight could influence roe deer movements through compensatory foraging. However, on nights with a full moon, collisions could also be affected by weather. On bright nights, roe deer might be less active due to increased human presence and sustained vehicular traffic. Then, with medium to high cloud cover and also rainfall, human presence in the environment may be low enough to increase deer movements, but vehicular traffic can still be intermediate, maximizing the risk of collisions. Finally, with overcast skies, widespread rainfall can reduce both traffic volume and human outdoor activity, decreasing the risk of collisions.Moon illumination may indeed affect wildlife–vehicle collisions and roadkill, but its effects should be quantified as a function of cloud cover. Moreover, to make studies truly comparable, research about wildlife–vehicle collisions should also account for time of the year.Policy implications. Because collisions with roe deer peak at particular periods of the year, signs should be installed seasonally. By doing so, they would warn drivers about the risk, improve drivers' awareness and increase their safety. Moreover, as collisions also increase on nights with a full moon and overcast skies, interactive warning signs that are activated by ground illumination should also be useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global change has manifested itself as climate warming in Central Europe in recent decades. Average daily air temperatures increased by an average of 2 °C between 1982 and 2018. Air temperature changes have affected the timing of the vegetation periods (phenophases) and have also influenced the behaviour of animals. We worked with data on wildlife-vehicle crashes (WVC) recorded by the Czech Police in the period 1982–2019. Three peaks can usually be observed (spring, summer, and autumn) in the WVC time series. Eighty percent of these records involved roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Such a high ratio allowed us to assume that any significant changes detected in WVC will be predominantly related to roe deer. We discovered that roe deer mortality on roads occurs earlier at present in the spring than in the past. The spring peak has shifted almost a month to the beginning of the year compared to the situation 38 years ago. The changes in the respective summer and autumn peaks were not statistically significant. The results suggest the effect of climate change on roe deer behaviour through increasing air temperatures and shifting vegetation phenophases. Thus, an earlier onset of deer activity associated with territory delineation and expected higher movement activity can be indirectly determined by the analysis of the WVC time series. The observed shift in the spring WVC peak in the roe deer model reveals a shift in ungulate behavioural patterns that is not evident from other biological data and thus surprisingly offers a suitable study framework for determining the impacts of environmental change on animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) are a critical threat to biodiversity and human safety. To implement WVC mitigation measures where most needed, we need to link models predicting the probability of the presence of species, at large spatial scales, with the likelihood of occurring collisions along roads. Here, we propose a framework for the prioritization of road sections for implementing mitigation measures using ecologically based information. Within this framework, we first model the likelihood of WVC occurrence for focal species in road vicinity areas. We then use spatial prioritization tools to select road sections that entail a higher probability of WVC across the focal species using user‐defined criteria for weighting species records. We applied this framework to Mato Grosso do Sul state (Brazil), using systematic information on WVC collected over 3 years along ca. 2000 km of roads. We focused on the WVC involving three large mammals commonly road‐killed therein, which represent a threat to humans when involved in WVC: the lowland tapir Tapirus terrestris, giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla and capybara Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris. We were able to identify road sections (<10% of the road network) that should be prioritized for implementing mitigation actions, which could significantly reduce the number of WVCs. However, the large extent of the road network classified as a priority for mitigation suggests the need to engage the public and private sectors in the early stages of the decision‐making process, in order to reach a consensus on the prioritization. Our framework may improve the environmental licensing process, namely by guiding where mitigation measures should be implemented first. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) cause millions of vertebrate mortalities globally, threatening population viability and influencing wildlife behaviour and survival. Traffic volume and speed can influence wildlife mortality on roads, but roadkill risk is species specific and depends on ecological traits.The COVID‐19 pandemic, and associated UK‐wide lockdowns, offered a unique opportunity to investigate how reducing traffic volume alters WVC. These periods of reduced human mobility have been coined the 'anthropause'.We used the anthropause to identify which ecological traits may render species vulnerable to WVC. We did this by comparing the relative change in WVC of species with differing traits before and during the anthropause.We used Generalised Additive Model predictions to assess which of the 19 species most frequently observed as WVC in the UK exhibited changes in road mortality during two lockdown periods, March–May 2020 and December 2020–March 2021, relative to the same time periods in previous years (2014–2019). Compositional data analysis was used to identify ecological traits associated with changes in the relative number of observations during lockdown periods compared to previous years.WVC were, across all species, 80% lower during the anthropause than predicted. Compositional data analysis revealed proportionally fewer reports of nocturnal mammals, urban visitors, mammals with greater brain mass and birds with a longer flight initiation distance. Species that have several of these traits, and correspondingly significantly lower than predicted WVC during lockdowns, included badgers Meles meles, foxes Vulpes vulpes, and pheasants, Phasianus colchicus; we posit they stand to benefit most from reduced traffic, and, of the species studied here, have highest mortality under 'normal' traffic levels.This study identifies traits and species that may have experienced a temporary reprieve during the anthropause, and highlights the impacts of traffic‐induced mortality on species numbers and ultimately on trait frequency in a road‐dominated landscape. By taking advantage of reductions in traffic offered by the anthropause, we can understand how vehicles influence wildlife survival and behaviour and may be exerting a selective force for certain species and traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Monitoring non-native species is important to assess their invasion risk. Here, we carried out a literature review on roadkill studies to investigate geographical patterns of biological invasions. We believe that roadkill data from published literature can be a valuable resource for people dealing with biological invasions, especially when field surveys cannot be performed. We retrieved 2314 studies published until January 2022, but only 40 of them (in addition to our own unpublished field data) included a full list of road-killed species (with a number of affected individuals for each species), so we were able to include them in our analyses. We classified all road-killed species from retrieved studies as native or introduced (domestic, introduced in historical times or recently released). We found that a higher number of introduced species would be recorded among roadkill in Mediterranean and Temperate regions with respect to Tropical and Desert areas. This result is in line with the current knowledge on non-native species distribution at the global scale, thus confirming that roadkill datasets can be used beyond the study of road impacts, such as for an assessment of different levels of biological invasions among different countries. Monitoring the presence and distribution of alien species is pivotal to assessing the risk of biological invasion. In our study, we carried out a worldwide review of roadkill data to investigate geographical patterns of biological invasions. We hypothesise that roadkill data from published literature can turn out to be a valuable resource for researchers and wildlife managers, especially when more focused surveys cannot be performed. We retrieved a total of 2314 works published until January 2022. Among those, only 41 (including our original data) fitted our requirements (i.e., including a total list of roadkilled terrestrial vertebrates, with a number of affected individuals for each species) and were included in our analysis. All roadkilled species from retrieved studies were classified as native or introduced (domestic, paleo-introduced, or recently released). We found that a higher number of introduced species would be recorded among roadkill in Mediterranean and Temperate areas with respect to Tropical and Desert biomes. This is definitely in line with the current knowledge on alien species distribution at the global scale, thus confirming that roadkill datasets can be used beyond the study of road impacts, such as for an assessment of different levels of biological invasions among different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: When wildlife cross roads, they risk fatality due to collisions with automobiles and motorbikes. As road infrastructure networks rapidly expand globally, especially in the tropics and subtropics, primates are increasingly at risk from these collisions. We created the Global Primate Roadkill Database (GPRD) as a comprehensive standardized repository to document incidents of primates killed by vehicular collisions. For each primate roadkill event, we recorded the species, location, and the year and month the incident was observed. As of February 2023, we collated over 2800 roadkill incidents, involving at least 107 primate species, from 41 countries. The lack of data from a large number of primate range countries did not necessarily indicate that primate roadkill events do not occur there, but more likely reflects underreporting. Given the value of these data for addressing both local and global research questions, we encourage conservationists and citizen scientists to contribute to the GPRD so that, together, we can better understand the impact road infrastructure has on primates. As road infrastructure networks rapidly expand globally, especially in the tropics, previously continuous habitats are being fragmented, resulting in more frequent wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVC). Primates are widespread throughout many sub-/tropical countries, and as their habitats are fragmented, they are increasingly at risk of WVC. We created the Global Primate Roadkill Database (GPRD), the largest available standardized database of primate roadkill incidents. We obtained data from published papers, un-published and citizen science databases, anecdotal reports, news reports, and social media posts. Here, we describe the collection methods for the GPRD and present the most up-to-date version of the database in full. For each primate roadkill incident, we recorded the species killed, the exact location, and the year and month the roadkill was observed. At the time of publication, the GPRD includes 2862 individual primate roadkill records from 41 countries. As primates range in more than twice as many countries, the absence of data from these countries is not necessarily indicative of a lack of primate vehicular collisions. Given the value of these data for addressing both local and global research questions, we encourage conservationists and citizen scientists to contribute to the GPRD so that, together, we can better understand the impact road infrastructure has on primates and evaluate measures which may help mitigate risk-prone areas or species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Densely populated regions such as Europe face dramatically increasing numbers of wildlife-vehicle collisions due to growing animal populations, traffic volume, and vehicle speeds. Identifying temporal and geographical collision hotspots can help mitigate wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) and improve animal welfare and human safety. In this study, an analysis of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)-vehicle collisions (RDVCs) throughout Lower Bavaria, the Bavarian Forest Nature Park (BFNatP) and the Bavarian Forest National Park (BFNP) reveals ultradian, circannual, and geographical hotspots. The highest density of RDVCs occurs in May, followed by the short but intense rutting season in August and a third, longer-lasting peak from September until November. Spring and fall migration and the dispersal of young roe deer greatly influence the annual patterns of RDVCs. The diurnal RDVC-distribution could be linked to the crepuscular activity patterns of roe deer, with the short temporal periods of dusk and dawn accounting for 55% of all RDVCs. In the BFNatP, federal roads have the highest relative number of RDVCs per kilometer followed by secondary roads. High-risk areas for RDVCs were identified in grassland patches within densely forested areas and in forest patches within grassland areas. Our results demonstrate that geographical analyses can help reveal vehicle collision hotspots and form the basis for mitigation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large herbivores possess high dispersal rates and require vast areas to roam due to their ecology. This will make them susceptible to anthropogenic threats such as vehicle-collisions. Persian onager (Equus hemionus onager), as the only representative of Artiodactyla in Iran, is not an exception. Persian onager-vehicle collision can not only be lethal for themselves but also for motorists. Given the importance of this twofold issue, an important step being taken to reduce collisions was the installation of signs that warn motorists of the high probability of onager-vehicle collisions. We developed a questionnaire to (1) assess the effectiveness of warning signs from motorists’ perspective, and (2) to identify the most important factors affecting motorist beliefs in the effectiveness of warning signs. We solicited responses to our questionnaire from motorists on a road with a high Persian onager-vehicle-collision rate in Southern Iran (Hassan Abad-Meshkan Road). To identify factors affecting motorists' beliefs in the effectiveness of warning signs we used logistic regression and for classifying motorists’ beliefs in the effectiveness of warning signs we used decision tree. Our result showed that motorists' driving speed, lack of adequate safety equipment on the road (e.g. light, police camera), using cellphone while driving, and concern about wildlife damage while driving on the road were the significant factors affecting motorists' beliefs toward the effectiveness of Persian onager warning signs. It is necessary to increase road safety equipment, install standard warning signs at the Persian onager crossing points, and study the behavior of motorists and the rate of road casualties after the mitigation methods to protect this species.

Roads have considerable ecological effects that threaten the survival of some species, including many terrestrial carnivores. The western polecat is a small-medium sized mustelid native to Asia and Europe, including Britain where its historical stronghold is in Wales. Polecats are frequently killed on roads and road casualties represent the most common source of data on the species in the UK. However, little is known about the factors that increase the risk of collision. We used Generalized Additive Models to explore seasonal patterns in collisions as well as using Principal Component Analysis and regression modelling to identify landscape characteristics associated with polecat road casualties in Wales. Polecat road casualties had a bimodal distribution, occurring most frequently in March and October. Casualties were more frequently associated with road density, traffic volume, presence of rabbits, habitat patchiness and the abundance of proximal improved grassland habitat. Casualties were negatively associated with elevation and the abundance of semi-natural grassland habitat. The results of this study provide a framework for understanding and mitigating the impacts of roads on polecats in their historic stronghold, hence has considerable value to polecat conservation as well as broader applicability to ecologically similar species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roadkill has been one of the most problematic issues with wildlife under urbanization. South Korea, one of the fastest industrializing countries in the world, has been affected by the same roadkill issues and has researched how to mitigate wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs). In the present study, we aimed to (i) review scientific studies concerning roadkill conducted in South Korea (51 domestic, 15 international papers, 19 reports, and 1 thesis), (ii) compare bibliographic networks between international and South Korean roadkill studies, and (iii) discuss future challenges. From a search in the core collection of Web of Science peer-reviewed papers published from 1992 to 2022, keywords were extracted to create a bibliometric visualization map, using VOSviewer. Among the 85 articles related to WVCs, those about eco-corridors have steadily increased since 1998, while mitigation system and roadkill articles have been published since the mid-2000s. With increased awareness, more systems have been established, and research related to WVCs has been increasingly established. Currently, there are two systematic roadkill monitoring systems in South Korea, and an increasing number of modeling studies have suggested where roadkill hotspots are located. How to mitigate roadkill incidents has also been explored. A comparison of associations between international and Korean research shows that the network structures of Korean society were more disconnected and less dispersed. In addition, the keywords were narrower than those used in studies from the international community. Although studies on landscape connectivity and road ecology are few, their number and scope in South Korea have increased and broadened. These studies could be more rapidly developed in the future as some systems are equipped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highways can fragment habitat and be a significant mortality source for mammals. Wildlife exclusion fencing has been shown to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, but can also prevent animals from escaping the highway corridor if they enter at access roads or at fence ends. Earthen escape ramps, or “jumpouts,” have been proposed as a possible solution but remain relatively untested. From 2012-2014, we used wildlife cameras to continuously document wildlife use of four jumpout ramps constructed as part of a 2.5-mile wildlife exclusion fence project along Highway 101 near San Luis Obispo, California. Mule deer occasionally used the jumpouts, but quantifying the rate of utilization was confounded by repeated visits by the same individuals. Male and female deer appeared to have different responses to the jumpouts, which warrants deeper investigation using additional data collected from further monitoring through mid-2017. The longer dataset will also better document how individual deer learn to use the jumpouts. Fenced highways can also reduce connectivity unless there is sufficient use of crossing structures. We documented mountain lion, bobcat, black bear, and mule deer used culverts and underpasses in and adjacent to the wildlife fence zone from 2012-2014. Mule deer used the large underpasses almost exclusively, and rarely if ever used culverts. Bear used a wider variety of structures, and bobcats were detected at almost every site and at a higher rate than the other taxa. Mountain lion detections were quite rare, likely due to lower population density in the study area. We propose a deeper multivariate analysis of the factors influencing these species’ use of culverts including culvert dimensionality, nearby habitat, and proximity to cover, based on an expanded dataset of up to five years of continual monitoring at certain sites. The goal of these analyses is to provide information that will help reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions while facilitating regional wildlife connectivity.

Roads have considerable ecological effects that threaten the survival of some species, including many terrestrial carnivores. The western polecat is a small-medium sized mustelid native to Asia and Europe, including Britain where its historical stronghold is in Wales. Polecats are frequently killed on roads and road casualties represent the most common source of data on the species in the UK. However, little is known about the factors that increase the risk of collision. We used Generalized Additive Models to explore seasonal patterns in collisions as well as using Principal Component Analysis and regression modelling to identify landscape characteristics associated with polecat road casualties in Wales. Polecat road casualties had a bimodal distribution, occurring most frequently in March and October. Casualties were more frequently associated with road density, traffic volume, presence of rabbits, habitat patchiness and the abundance of proximal improved grassland habitat. Casualties were negatively associated with elevation and the abundance of semi-natural grassland habitat. The results of this study provide a framework for understanding and mitigating the impacts of roads on polecats in their historic stronghold, hence has considerable value to polecat conservation as well as broader applicability to ecologically similar species.

• Amphibian roadkill patterns were studied in an Asian tropical rainforest. • Roadkill observations showed a clustered spatial distribution. • Roadkill observations remained comparable in the dry and wet seasons. • Percentage of area with buildings positively impacted roadkill observations. • Permanent mitigation measures should mostly target roads with more buildings. Wildlife roadkills have emerged as one of the most adverse impacts of road networks on biodiversity. Knowledge regarding amphibian roadkill patterns in Asian tropical rainforests is limited. Herein, we present the first assessment of roadkill patterns of amphibians in the Hainan tropical rainforest of southern China, based on extensive field surveys covering 58 road transects in 2021 and 2022. We investigated the effects of species characteristics, seasons, and environmental factors on amphibian roadkill patterns. We recorded 503 amphibian carcasses and identified 13 amphibian species. Abundant species are more likely to be killed. There were no significant differences in the roadkill observations between the dry and wet seasons. The number of roadkill observations correlated positively with the percentage of area with buildings. Our findings provide new insights into the ecological effects of roads and transportation in Asian tropical rainforests, which will help design and implement conservation actions. We suggest prioritizing permanent mitigation measures to reduce roadkill risk for abundant species on roads with a relatively high percentage of area with buildings in the Hainan tropical rainforest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human population and economic growth have resulted in roads transecting much of the North American landscape and this has negatively affected wildlife populations by fragmenting habitat, impeding movement between populations and increasing the chance of wildlife‐vehicle collisions. A common conservation tool to counteract these effects is the incorporation of road mitigation structures (RMS, i.e., jumpouts and overpasses/underpasses/fencing) into highway systems. However, gaps remain in our knowledge on RMS efficacy due to a lack of long‐term multispecies studies that can assess temporal and species‐specific variation in use. We investigate the efficacy of the Alberta Environment and Parks and Alberta Transportation RMS on the Trans‐Canada Highway (TCH) in the Bow Valley by analyzing annual reported wildlife‐vehicle collisions over a 23‐year period and wildlife use of the underpasses over a ten‐year period. We found that the incorporation of multiple underpasses and jumpouts, along with fencing, reduced the number of reported wildlife‐vehicle collisions on the TCH. We also found that wildlife use of the RMS exhibited variation with regards to month and location. Overall, our results add to the research supporting RMS effectiveness and suggest that incorporating additional similar infrastructure has the potential to further reduce wildlife‐vehicle collisions on the TCH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collisions between vehicles and macropods pose problems for road safety, animal welfare and wildlife conservation in Australia. We tested the ShuRoo, which is marketed specifically to deter kangaroos from approaching vehicles. We recruited 18 fleet operators with vehicles travelling consistent routes over long distances in rural areas: 59 vehicles fitted with ShuRoos and 40 vehicles without ShuRooss to act as controls. Drivers kept a log of collisions with macropods over an average distance travelled of 46,131 km. The overall mean rate of collisions with macropods was 1.16 per 100,000 km, with no significant difference between vehicles with a ShuRoo (1.32 ± 0.51) versus those without the device (0.68 ± 0.39). Drivers have the capacity to change their behaviour as a coping strategy to the presence of wildlife on the road, but risk a rebound effect if they believe the ShuRoo manufacturer's claims and do not modify their driving behaviour to match the context. Rather than retro-fitting an ill-conceived device like the ShuRoo, an integrated, inter-disciplinary approach is needed to resolve the pervasive problem of macropod-vehicle collisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Wildlife roadkill is a global problem. Devices that produce bright lights and loud noises are claimed to be effective deterrents, but there is no scientific evidence that they actually prevent collisions between vehicles and wildlife. A recent trial in Australia installed a light and sound system, marketed as a 'virtual fence', and tested it on bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus). The study concluded that the system was minimally effective but promising. We detected a number of conceptual and procedural flaws in that study. When we re-analysed their data, we found absolutely no evidence for the effect of the virtual fence on the roadkills of wombats. The roadkill of wildlife is a global problem. Much has been written about deterring wildlife from roads, but, as of yet, there is no empirical support for deterrents based on visual and/or auditory signals. A recent paper entitled 'Can virtual fences reduce wombat road mortalities?'reported the results of a roadkill mitigation trial. The authors installed a 'virtual fence' system produced by iPTE Traffic Solutions Ltd. (Graz, Austria) and evaluated its effectiveness for reducing roadkills of bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus) in southern Australia. The authors recorded roadkills in a simple Before-After-Control-Impact design but did not conduct any formal statistical analysis. They also measured three contextual variables (vegetation, wombat burrows, and vehicle velocity) but did not link these to the occurrence of roadkills in space and time. The authors concluded that the iPTE virtual fence system was 'minimally effective', yet 'appears promising'. Our analysis of their data, using standard inferential statistics, showed no effect of the virtual fence on roadkills whatsoever. We conclude that the iPTE system was not effective for mitigating the roadkills of bare-nosed wombats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collisions with vehicles are a major cause of wildlife mortality. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, many countries enforced lockdowns that reduced vehicular traffic and consequently wildlife‐vehicle collisions. However, no study has yet explored how traffic‐related mortality declined across multiple species of wildlife, leaving doubts about the species‐specific impact of COVID‐19 on wildlife ecology and management.We modelled how two lockdowns (in spring and autumn 2020) influenced wildlife‐vehicle collisions throughout Slovenia, in central Europe, by comparing weekly roadkill in 2020 with 2010–2019 time series for European roe deer (n = 53,259), red fox (n = 9,889), Eurasian badger (n = 5,170), brown hare (n = 5,050), stone marten (n = 4,267), wild boar (n = 1,188) and red deer (n = 1,088).During the spring lockdown (16 March–30 April 2020), we observed far fewer collisions than expected for roe deer and badgers. During the autumn lockdown (20 October–31 December 2020), we observed significantly fewer collisions for roe deer and wild boar, but we noted an excess of collisions with badgers. Traffic reduction had a major influence on roe deer, whose roadkill decreased between 156 and 321 individuals.Heterogeneous changes in road mortality across the seven studied species indicate that reductions in human mobility can trigger complex species‐specific dynamics in wildlife assemblages, which may generate compensatory effects beyond lockdowns.For some species, such as roe deer, local reductions in the number of roadkill attained a significant fraction of the overall mortality. This could affect local population dynamics in cases where lockdowns are repeated over a number of years.Policy implications. Management aimed at reducing vehicular traffic, and therefore human disturbance and roadkill, can be evaluated using time‐series analysis of data on multiple species. During times of restricted human movement, local‐scale reductions should be estimated and accounted for in adaptive management, such as for planning culling quotas, to minimize their ecological and socio‐economic impacts while optimizing the outcomes of science‐based population management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) in many places have a significant impact on wildlife management and road safety. The COVID-19 lockdown enabled the study of the specific impact that traffic has on these events. WVC variation in the Asturias and Cantabria regions (NW of Spain) because of the COVID-19 lockdown reached a maximum reduction of −64.77% during strict confinement but it was minimal or nonexistent during "soft" confinement. The global average value was −30.22% compared with the WVCs registered in the same period in 2019, but only −4.69% considering the average throughout the period 2010–2019. There are huge differences between conventional roads, where the traffic reduction was greater, and highways, where the traffic reduction was lesser during the COVID-19 lockdown. The results depend on the season, the day of the week and the time of day, but mainly on the traffic reduction occurring. The results obtained highlight the need to include the traffic factor in WVC reduction strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife‐vehicle collisions (WVCs) represent a serious source of mortality for many species, threatening local populations' persistence while also carrying high economic and human safety costs. Animals may adapt their behaviour to road‐associated threats, but roadside resources can also attract individuals to dangerous roadside habitats, ultimately acting as an ecological trap. Yet, the extent to which individuals modify their behaviour and space use to roads is largely unknown for most taxonomic groups. Using fine‐scale movement data from 38 giant anteaters Myrmecophaga tridactyla tracked in the Brazilian Cerrado, we aimed to identify facets of movement behaviour that might exhibit plasticity to roads and traffic volume. Specifically, the analysis of daily and instantaneous movement speeds, home‐range characteristics and crossing rates/times allowed us to test for an effect of road proximity, traffic volume and natural linear features on movement behaviour. We found no effect of road proximity or traffic volume on space use or movement behaviour. While individuals tended to reduce their movement speed when approaching roads and crossed roads ~3 times less than would have been expected by random chance, none of the three highways we monitored were impervious. The majority of tracked anteaters living near roads (<2 km) crossed them, with higher crossing rates for males than females. Habitat near roads may function as an ecological trap where healthy individuals occupy the territories nearby or bisected by roads but eventually are road‐killed given their regular crossings, leaving the territory vacant for subsequent occupation. Crucially, we found no evidence that anteaters actively searched for passage structures to cross the roads. This suggests that crossing structures alone are unlikely to mitigate WVC‐induced mortality in giant anteaters. Our research reinforces the need to implement fencing, leading to existing passages, and minimizing the amount of night‐time driving to reduce the number of WVCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roads obstruct wildlife movements, and wildlife‐vehicle collisions are a hazard to both animals and humans. Wildlife and transportation managers often consider reducing the speed limit to reduce wildlife‐vehicle collisions, but there is little empirical data to support or refute this measure. We experimentally reduced the nighttime speed limit from 70 to 55 mph on six stretches of highway that cross mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) winter range or migration paths. Drivers consistently reduced their speeds, but only by 3–5 mi/h. Reduced speed limit did not make it any easier for deer to cross the road, indicating no benefit for habitat connectivity. At winter sites, the number of deer‐vehicle collisions was not affected by the reduced speed limit whereas at migration sites, collisions were modestly lower under the reduced speed limit. Given the small reduction in vehicle speeds, it is not surprising that there was little benefit of reduced speed limit for deer or people. We conclude that reduced nighttime speed limit is not an effective way to reduce wildlife‐vehicle collisions or make roads more permeable to wildlife due to poor compliance from motorists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road networks provide several benefits to human societies; however, they are also one of the major drivers of fragmentation and habitat degradation. Their negative effects include wildlife-vehicle collisions which are associated with increased barrier effects, restricted gene flow, and increased local extinction risk. Large carnivores, such as the brown bear (Ursus arctos), are vulnerable to road mortality while they also put human safety at risk in every collision. We recorded approximately 100 bear-vehicle collisions during the last 15 years (2005-2020) in northwestern Greece and identified common aspects for collisions, i.e., spatial, or temporal segregation of collision events, road features, and age or sex of the involved animals. We recorded collisions in both the core distribution area of brown bears, as well as at the periphery, where few individuals, mostly males, disperse. According to our findings, there are four collision hotspots which include ca. 60% of total collisions. Bear-vehicle collisions occurred mostly in periods of increased animal mobility, under poor light conditions and low visibility. In most cases, we deem that a collision was unavoidable at the time of animal detection, because the driver could not have reacted in time to avoid it. Appropriate fencing, in combination with the retention of safe passages for the animals, can minimize collisions. Therefore, such mitigation measures, wildlife warning signs and other collision prevention systems, such as animal detection systems, should be adopted to decrease the number of bear-vehicle collisions and improve road safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roadways may pose barriers to long‐distance migrators such as some ungulates. Highway underpasses mitigate wildlife‐vehicle collisions and can be an important management tool for protecting migration corridors. In northern California, 3 underpasses were built on United States Route 395 (Route 395) in Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area (HJWA) in the 1970s for a migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) herd that had been negatively affected by highway traffic. To determine whether these underpasses were still reducing mule deer mortalities >40 years after construction, we investigated deer use of the underpasses from 2006–2019 using cameras, global positioning system (GPS) collars, and roadkill records. We used occupancy models, approximations of GPS‐collared mule deer movement paths, and roadkill locations to estimate the highway crossing patterns of deer. From camera data, there was higher use of the underpasses by deer during migration (spring [Mar–Jun], fall [Oct–Dec]) than in summer (Jul–Sep), when only resident deer were present. Higher underpass usage occurred in the spring compared to fall migrations. Eleven of 21 GPS‐collared migrating mule deer crossed Route 395. We estimated 30% of the crossings (by 7 of the 11 deer) occurred south of the underpasses where deer could easily access the highway because of short (1‐m high) and deteriorating highway fencing. Roadkill data confirmed that deer‐vehicle collisions were occurring south of the underpasses and at the underpasses. This was likely due to deteriorating infrastructure at the underpasses that allows wildlife access to the highway. Overall, our study indicated that although underpasses can provide safe passage for migratory deer decades (>40 yr) after their construction, deteriorating infrastructure such as fencing and gates can lead to wildlife mortalities on highways near underpasses. © 2021 The Wildlife Society. : The results of our study indicate the importance of long‐term maintenance and monitoring of roadway crossing structures and highway fencing to prevent wildlife‐vehicle collisions. Migratory mule deer still used underpasses built over 40 years ago, but deer roadkills near the underpasses were attributed to deterioration of infrastructure including highway fencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]