Search

The Crab-eating Raccon (Procyon cancrivorus) is a mesocarnivore with a wide distribution in Colombia, opportunistic frugivorous-omnivorous habits, and limited knowledge about its diet. In this work, by reviewing the stomach contents of a female P. cancrivorus run over on a secondary road in the municipality of Puerto Wilches, Santander, Colombia, new food items were recorded in the diet of the species. Two species of frogs were identified: Elachistocleis pearsei and Engystomops pustulosus, and fragments of individuals of the family Hylidae and Leptodactylidae were found. This work contributes to the knowledge of the diet and natural history of a common mesocarnivore species in our country and represents an opportunity to explore future research using road-killed specimens., La zorra patona (Procyon cancrivorus) es un mesocarnívoro que posee una amplia distribución en Colombia, tiene hábitos frugívoros-omnívoros oportunistas, y un conocimiento limitado sobre su dieta. En este trabajo, mediante la revisión del contenido estomacal de una hembra de P. cancrivorus atropellada en una vía secundaria del municipio de Puerto Wilches, Santander, Colombia, se registraron nuevos ítems alimenticios en la dieta de la especie. Se identificaron dos especies de ranas: Elachistocleis pearsei y Engystomops pustulosus, y se encontraron fragmentos de individuos de la familia Hylidae y Leptodactylidae. Este trabajo contribuye al conocimiento de la dieta e historia natural de una especie de mesocarnívoro común en nuestro país y representa una oportunidad para explorar futuras investigaciones, utilizando especímenes atropellados de manera fortuita.

Wildlife-vehicle collisions are animal-human interactions that may have severe consequences for both human safety and economy. These events may additionally hinder the conservation of endangered species, including some with large economic investments made in their recovery. Obtaining standardized information is crucial for a better characterization of these events and, consequently, for the implementation of measures aiming at reducing their numbers and relevance. In Spain, the information about individual road incidents involving wildlife is gathered by different Administrations and may therefore be difficult to obtain general patterns due to the heterogeneity of the data collected. To solve this problem, here we present a unique and unified dataset of wildlife-vehicle collisions in Spain. We collected the information from the different Administrations, standardizing and including all information of each individual event in this new dataset. This dataset is a valuable resource not only because it will allow a deep characterization of the casuistry of wildlife-vehicle collisions in Spain but also because we believe that it provides a good example of which variables must be collected by the different Administrations responsible of these data.

Carrion production is one of the most crucial yet neglected and understudied processes in food webs and ecosystems. In this study, we performed a large-scale estimation of the maximum potential production and spatial distribution of ungulate carrion biomass from five major sources in peninsular Spain, both anthropogenic (livestock, big game hunting, roadkills) and natural (predation, natural mortality). Using standardized ungulate carrion biomass (kg/year/100km2) estimates, we evaluated the relationship between ungulate carrion production and two ecosystem-level factors: global human modification (GHM) and primary productivity (NDVI). We found that anthropogenic carrion sources supplied about 60 times more ungulate carrion biomass than natural sources (mean = 90,172 vs. 1533 kg/year/100km2, respectively). Within anthropogenic carrion sources, livestock was by far the major carrion provider (91.1% of the annual production), followed by big game hunting (7.86%) and roadkills (0.05%). Within natural carrion sources, predation of ungulates provided more carrion (0.81%) than natural mortality (0.13%). Likewise, we found that the spatial distribution of carrion differed among carrion sources, with anthropogenic carrion being more aggregated in space than natural carrion. Our models showed that GHM was positively related to carrion production from livestock and roadkills, and that wild ungulate carrion supplied by natural sources and big game hunting was more frequently generated in more productive areas (higher NDVI). These findings indicate a disconnection between the main ungulate carrion source (livestock) and primary productivity. Ongoing socio-economic changes in developed countries (for example increase of intensive livestock husbandry and rewilding processes) could lead to additional alteration of carrion production processes, with potential negative impacts at the community and ecosystem levels. Overall, we highlight that carrion biomass quantification should be c

This is "Wild," a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources podcast with your host, Faith Heaton Jolley. In this episode, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Migration Initiative Coordinator Blair Stringham and Utah Department of Transportation Natural Resource Manager Matt Howard talk about how the state is working to reduce wildlife/vehicle collisions by implementing different types of wildlife crossings across Utah. These structures not only help make roads safer for Utah drivers, but they also allow wildlife to make important annual migrations across the landscape.

Snow Canyon State Park is home to many Mojave desert tortoises. They are federally listed as a threatened species. Since 2017 there has been a gradual increase in tortoise deaths due to cars and inattentive drivers. Every year hundreds of animals are hit and killed on the park roadway. So relax, enjoy the drive, and keep your eyes on the road.

This is "Wild," a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources podcast with your host, Faith Heaton Jolley. In this episode, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Migration Initiative Coordinator Blair Stringham and Utah Department of Transportation Natural Resource Manager Matt Howard talk about how the state is working to reduce wildlife/vehicle collisions by implementing different types of wildlife crossings across Utah. These structures not only help make roads safer for Utah drivers, but they also allow wildlife to make important annual migrations across the landscape.

Carrion production is one of the most crucial yet neglected and understudied processes in food webs and ecosystems. In this study, we performed a large-scale estimation of the maximum potential production and spatial distribution of ungulate carrion biomass from five major sources in peninsular Spain, both anthropogenic (livestock, big game hunting, roadkills) and natural (predation, natural mortality). Using standardized ungulate carrion biomass (kg/year/100km2) estimates, we evaluated the relationship between ungulate carrion production and two ecosystem-level factors: global human modification (GHM) and primary productivity (NDVI). We found that anthropogenic carrion sources supplied about 60 times more ungulate carrion biomass than natural sources (mean = 90,172 vs. 1533 kg/year/100km2, respectively). Within anthropogenic carrion sources, livestock was by far the major carrion provider (91.1% of the annual production), followed by big game hunting (7.86%) and roadkills (0.05%). Within natural carrion sources, predation of ungulates provided more carrion (0.81%) than natural mortality (0.13%). Likewise, we found that the spatial distribution of carrion differed among carrion sources, with anthropogenic carrion being more aggregated in space than natural carrion. Our models showed that GHM was positively related to carrion production from livestock and roadkills, and that wild ungulate carrion supplied by natural sources and big game hunting was more frequently generated in more productive areas (higher NDVI). These findings indicate a disconnection between the main ungulate carrion source (livestock) and primary productivity. Ongoing socio-economic changes in developed countries (for example increase of intensive livestock husbandry and rewilding processes) could lead to additional alteration of carrion production processes, with potential negative impacts at the community and ecosystem levels. Overall, we highlight that carrion biomass quantification should be c

Landscape transformation favors the spread of new pathogens that can be shared between domestic and wild animals. Certain adenoviruses (e.g., canine adenovirus 1 and 2, family Adenoviridae) can infect domestic and wild carnivores. In domestic canids, these viruses are associated with hepatic and respiratory diseases (among others). Nevertheless, information regarding adenovirus pathogenicity and molecular features in wild carnivores is still limited. Herein we surveyed adenovirus in free-ranging carnivores from Brazil. Total DNA was extracted from and subsequently tested by a nested panPCR in spleen and/or lung of 52 carnivores, representing species of the following families: Canidae (n = 4), Felidae (n = 3), Mustelidae (n = 2) and Procyonidae (n = 2). The obtained sequences were compared to others available at GenBank. Available tissue samples from the positive cases were evaluated histopathologically. One out of 52 (1.9%, CI 95%, 0.0–5.7%) carnivores was positive; a roadkilled ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). The obtained sequence presented a low deduced amino acid (78.1%) similarity with the closest adenovirus, identified in a pinniped from the United States of America. This fact and its detection in a novel host suggest it may be representative of a novel species and denominated ocelot adenovirus 1. None of the gross and microscopic findings of the positive case were associated with adenovirus. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of adenovirus in wild felids of South America and the second worldwide. Further studies are necessary to assess the epidemiology and potential pathogenicity of this agent in wild carnivores.

This is "Wild," a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources podcast with your host, Faith Heaton Jolley. In this episode, DWR Wildlife Technician Steve Gray showcases one of the division's grossest jobs: roadkill removal. He explains the process of removing these dead animals, some of the difficulties of the job, and tips drivers should be aware of to help avoid a collision. This episode was originally recorded in October 2020.

One of the most evident and direct effects of roads on wildlife is the death of animals by vehicle collision. Understanding the spatial patterns behind roadkill helps to plan mitigation measures to reduce the impacts of roads on animal populations. However, although roadkill patterns have been extensively studied in temperate zones, the potential impacts of roads on wildlife in the Neotropics have received less attention and are particularly poorly understood in the Western Amazon. Here, we present the results of a study on roadkill in the Amazon region of Ecuador; a region that is affected by a rapidly increasing development of road infrastructure. Over the course of 50 days, in the wet season between September and November 2017, we searched for road-killed vertebrates on 15.9 km of roads near the city of Tena, Napo province, for a total of 1,590 surveyed kilometers. We recorded 593 dead specimens, predominantly reptiles (237 specimens, 40%) and amphibians (190, 32%), with birds (102, 17%) and mammals (64, 11%) being less common. Recorded species were assigned to three functional groups, based on their movement behavior and habitat use (“slow,” “intermediate,” and “fast”). Using Ripley's K statistical analyses and 2D HotSpot Identification Analysis, we found multiple distinct spatial clusters or hotspots, where roadkill was particularly frequent. Factors that potentially determined these clusters, and the prevalence of roadkill along road segments in general, differed between functional groups, but often included land cover variables such as native forest and waterbodies, and road characteristics such as speed limit (i.e., positive effect on roadkill frequency). Our study, which provides a first summary of species that are commonly found as roadkill in this part of the Amazon region, contributes to a better understanding of the negative impacts of roads on wildlife and is an important first step toward conservation efforts to mitigate these impacts.

Mortality of snakes caused by vehicular traffic in a segment of 17 km of the road between El Valle de Toledo and the municipality of Toledo, department of Antioquia, Colombia was determined through four months of continuous sampling between 1 October 2018 and 31 January 2019. Eighteen individuals corresponding to 14 species and three families were registered, Colubridae being the most representative (12 spp.), and Mastigodryas pleei and Leptophis ahaetulla the most run over species. Roadkill rate was 0.0043 individuals/km, which is relatively low when compared to those obtained in other related studies. 50% of the records occurred in the month of January, the time of least rainfall in the study area. Finally, these results show a small part of the vehicular affectation on this group of fauna, which could have a greater impact in the future according to the development of road infrastructure in this region, for which some strategies to mitigate the negative effects on wildlife are proposed., A través de 4 meses de muestreo continúo comprendidos entre el 1 octubre de 2018 y 31 de enero de 2019, se determinó la mortalidad de serpientes causada por el tránsito vehicular en un segmento de 17 km de la vía entre El Valle de Toledo y el municipio de Toledo, departamento de Antioquia, Colombia. Se registraron 18 individuos correspondientes a 14 especies y tres familias, siendo Colubridae la más representativa (12 spp.), y Mastigodryas pleei y Leptophis ahaetulla las especies más atropelladas. Se obtuvo una tasa de atropellamiento (TA) de 0.0043 individuos/km, la cual es relativamente baja al compararla con las obtenidas en otros estudios relacionados. El 50% de los registros ocurrieron en el mes de enero, época de menor precipitación en la zona de estudio. Finalmente, estos resultados muestran una pequeña parte de la afectación vehicular sobre este grupo de fauna, que podría tener mayor impacto hacia el futuro de acuerdo con el desarrollo de la infraestructura vial de la región, para lo cual se proponen algunas estrategias que permitan mitigar los efectos negativos sobre la fauna.

Mortality of snakes caused by vehicular traffic in a segment of 17 km of the road between El Valle de Toledo and the municipality of Toledo, department of Antioquia, Colombia was determined through four months of continuous sampling between 1 October 2018 and 31 January 2019. Eighteen individuals corresponding to 14 species and three families were registered, Colubridae being the most representative (12 spp.), and Mastigodryas pleei and Leptophis ahaetulla the most run over species. Roadkill rate was 0.0043 individuals/km, which is relatively low when compared to those obtained in other related studies. 50% of the records occurred in the month of January, the time of least rainfall in the study area. Finally, these results show a small part of the vehicular affectation on this group of fauna, which could have a greater impact in the future according to the development of road infrastructure in this region, for which some strategies to mitigate the negative effects on wildlife are proposed., A través de 4 meses de muestreo continúo comprendidos entre el 1 octubre de 2018 y 31 de enero de 2019, se determinó la mortalidad de serpientes causada por el tránsito vehicular en un segmento de 17 km de la vía entre El Valle de Toledo y el municipio de Toledo, departamento de Antioquia, Colombia. Se registraron 18 individuos correspondientes a 14 especies y tres familias, siendo Colubridae la más representativa (12 spp.), y Mastigodryas pleei y Leptophis ahaetulla las especies más atropelladas. Se obtuvo una tasa de atropellamiento (TA) de 0.0043 individuos/km, la cual es relativamente baja al compararla con las obtenidas en otros estudios relacionados. El 50% de los registros ocurrieron en el mes de enero, época de menor precipitación en la zona de estudio. Finalmente, estos resultados muestran una pequeña parte de la afectación vehicular sobre este grupo de fauna, que podría tener mayor impacto hacia el futuro de acuerdo con el desarrollo de la infraestructura vial de la región, para lo cual se proponen algunas estrategias que permitan mitigar los efectos negativos sobre la fauna.

Collisions between wildlife and vehicles represent the main conflict between infrastructures and ecosystems. Road mortality is the largest single cause of death for many vertebrates, representing a growing phenomenon of remarkable dimension. Most studies in road ecology investigated spatial roadkill patterns, showing that roadkill probability is often higher near optimal habitat for a large amount of species. Landscape connectivity has been less often considered in roadkill research, and only few studies considered habitat suitability and landscape connectivity at the same time. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relative importance of habitat suitability and landscape connectivity in determining roadkill risk for a habitat-generalist carnivore, namely, the Eurasian badger in the Abruzzo region (Central Italy). We collected occurrence data of living individuals from camera trapping and roadkill data of through a Citizen Science initiative. We used the occurrence data to produce a habitat suitability model (HSM) and a landscape connectivity model (LCM). Both HSM and LCM were then used as predictors in combination with road characteristics to fit a roadkill risk model. We found that landscape connectivity was more important than habitat suitability in determining roadkill risk for the Eurasian badger. Overall, the density of regional roads was the most important variable. Our finding highlighted how important is to consider landscape connectivity in planning mitigation measures aimed to preserve habitat-generalist species. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Linear infrastructures (e.g. roads, railways or power lines) promote a myriad of negative impacts on wildlife around the world, of which direct mortality is the most visible one. When high mortality rates are found, mitigation measures are often discussed and applied. On the other hand, the lack of mortality is commonly interpreted as evidence of low impact on wildlife. We argue that the lack of mortality may actually mask two pervasive effects of linear infrastructures on animal populations: past massive mortality, causing local extinctions, or strong barrier effects due to the inability or reluctance of individuals to traverse the infrastructure corridor. In order to obtain a sound impact assessment of the linear infrastructures on wildlife, research is needed that integrates long-term mortality data with information on the abundance of the focal species, their genetic patterns and movement behavior. We discuss the implications of these impacts for both infrastructures and landscape management.

Urbanisation and a growing global population have caused our road networks to expand rapidly in the past decades. The consequences of transport infrastructure for wildlife include traffic mortality, habitat loss and habitat degradation and the negative impact of a road extends far beyond the road itself. In Ireland, there are mitigation measures for wildlife mortality in place on all major roads. Mitigation measures can help reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and increase habitat connectivity but need to be properly monitored and maintained following implementation. This study was carried out in collaboration with the Environmental Policy & Compliance department at Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), a state agency in Ireland responsible for national road and public transport infrastructure. It applied various spatial and temporal analyses methods in order to ascertain how best to prioritise critical road sections and times for maintenance. The significance of the study is that recent site visits carried out in Ireland found that 66% of mitigation measures were of inadequate standard. The methods were applied to roadkill data taken over an eight year period on the M3 motorway in county Meath, Ireland. This case study was chosen as mitigation measures, such as underpasses and mammal underpasses, have been in operation since its’ opening in 2010. It was found that temporal analysis could provide an insight into whether roadkill was increasing or decreasing annually as well as what months were most recommendable to carry out maintenance. The spatial analysis began with using Ripley’s K-statistics to first determine whether or not clustering of roadkill was occurring along the study area. Four different methods of locating hotspots along a road network were then applied and compared; Malo’s method, 2D Hotspot Analysis using Siriema Road Mortality software, kernel density estimation using SANET and finally KDE+. The findings showed that, despite mitigation measur

Urbanisation and a growing global population have caused our road networks to expand rapidly in the past decades. The consequences of transport infrastructure for wildlife include traffic mortality, habitat loss and habitat degradation and the negative impact of a road extends far beyond the road itself. In Ireland, there are mitigation measures for wildlife mortality in place on all major roads. Mitigation measures can help reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and increase habitat connectivity but need to be properly monitored and maintained following implementation. This study was carried out in collaboration with the Environmental Policy & Compliance department at Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), a state agency in Ireland responsible for national road and public transport infrastructure. It applied various spatial and temporal analyses methods in order to ascertain how best to prioritise critical road sections and times for maintenance. The significance of the study is that recent site visits carried out in Ireland found that 66% of mitigation measures were of inadequate standard. The methods were applied to roadkill data taken over an eight year period on the M3 motorway in county Meath, Ireland. This case study was chosen as mitigation measures, such as underpasses and mammal underpasses, have been in operation since its’ opening in 2010. It was found that temporal analysis could provide an insight into whether roadkill was increasing or decreasing annually as well as what months were most recommendable to carry out maintenance. The spatial analysis began with using Ripley’s K-statistics to first determine whether or not clustering of roadkill was occurring along the study area. Four different methods of locating hotspots along a road network were then applied and compared; Malo’s method, 2D Hotspot Analysis using Siriema Road Mortality software, kernel density estimation using SANET and finally KDE+. The findings showed that, despite mitigation measur

The elusive animal hit by a vehicle near Bear Lake. Even though it was hit and killed by a vehicle, the fact a wolverine was in northern Utah is exciting to staff with the Division of Wildlife Resources.

The elusive animal hit by a vehicle near Bear Lake. Even though it was hit and killed by a vehicle, the fact a wolverine was in northern Utah is exciting to staff with the Division of Wildlife Resources.

The Jaguar Corridor Initiative aims to maintain the connectivity of this species. In Costa Rica, this initiative started on the Barbilla-Destierro Biological Subcorridor. The future paving of a road as an offset measure of Reventazon Hydroelectric Project was identified as a potential barrier forthe connectivity of the jaguar (Panthera onca) and other animals. In this study we suggest a method that can be used to identify animal crossing points on a gravel road. Data was collected from June 2011 to January 2012. We made a comparison between gravel and paved sections of the same road. To identify animal crossing sites and sectors, information from surveys, interviews and structural connectivity was overlapped. When comparing the gravel and paved sections, the paved section had more cars using it, more houses at its edges, more wildlife roadkills and fewer sightings and species. Three wildlife crossings sites and five sectors were identified. Jaguar and margay (Leopardus wiedii) were registered crossing the road, and raccoons (Procyon lotor) frequently used a culvert as an underpass. This methodology may be used as a practical tool that can be implemented by government and enterprises to identify wildlife crossing sites and to recommend mitigation actions that would reduce the impact caused by the creation and improvement of roads in the region., La Iniciativa del Corredor del Jaguar pretende mantener la conectividad de esta especie. En Costa Rica, esta iniciativa inició en el Subcorredor Biológico Barbilla-Destierro. En este Subcorredor, se ha identificado la pavimentación de un camino de lastre (asociado a las obras de mitigación social del Proyecto Hidroeléctrico Reventazón), como una potencial barrera para la conectividad del jaguar (Panthera onca) y otras especies. Este estudio sugiere un método para identificar los cruces de fauna sobre el camino. Se tomaron datos de junio del 2011 a enero del 2012. Se compararon los registros de avistamientos y atropellos entre una sección de lastre y una de pavimento del mismo camino. Para identificar los pasos de fauna se sobrepusieron distintas fuentes de información: recorridos, entrevistas y conectividad estructural. Al comparar los caminos se encontró que en el pavimento circulan más vehículos, hay más casas, hay más atropellos y se registran menos especies y avistamientos de fauna. Se identificaron tres sitios de cruces de fauna y cinco sectores. Se registró el cruce del camino por jaguar y caucel (Leopardus wiedii) y el uso de una alcantarilla por mapaches (Procyonlotor). Esta metodología puede ser implementada por proyectos viales para identificar los sitios de cruce de fauna y brindar recomendaciones sobre las medidas ambientales de mitigación a implementar asociadas a mejoras o construcción de caminos.

The Jaguar Corridor Initiative aims to maintain the connectivity of this species. In Costa Rica, this initiative started on the Barbilla-Destierro Biological Subcorridor. The future paving of a road as an offset measure of Reventazon Hydroelectric Project was identified as a potential barrier forthe connectivity of the jaguar (Panthera onca) and other animals. In this study we suggest a method that can be used to identify animal crossing points on a gravel road. Data was collected from June 2011 to January 2012. We made a comparison between gravel and paved sections of the same road. To identify animal crossing sites and sectors, information from surveys, interviews and structural connectivity was overlapped. When comparing the gravel and paved sections, the paved section had more cars using it, more houses at its edges, more wildlife roadkills and fewer sightings and species. Three wildlife crossings sites and five sectors were identified. Jaguar and margay (Leopardus wiedii) were registered crossing the road, and raccoons (Procyon lotor) frequently used a culvert as an underpass. This methodology may be used as a practical tool that can be implemented by government and enterprises to identify wildlife crossing sites and to recommend mitigation actions that would reduce the impact caused by the creation and improvement of roads in the region., La Iniciativa del Corredor del Jaguar pretende mantener la conectividad de esta especie. En Costa Rica, esta iniciativa inició en el Subcorredor Biológico Barbilla-Destierro. En este Subcorredor, se ha identificado la pavimentación de un camino de lastre (asociado a las obras de mitigación social del Proyecto Hidroeléctrico Reventazón), como una potencial barrera para la conectividad del jaguar (Panthera onca) y otras especies. Este estudio sugiere un método para identificar los cruces de fauna sobre el camino. Se tomaron datos de junio del 2011 a enero del 2012. Se compararon los registros de avistamientos y atropellos entre una sección de lastre y una de pavimento del mismo camino. Para identificar los pasos de fauna se sobrepusieron distintas fuentes de información: recorridos, entrevistas y conectividad estructural. Al comparar los caminos se encontró que en el pavimento circulan más vehículos, hay más casas, hay más atropellos y se registran menos especies y avistamientos de fauna. Se identificaron tres sitios de cruces de fauna y cinco sectores. Se registró el cruce del camino por jaguar y caucel (Leopardus wiedii) y el uso de una alcantarilla por mapaches (Procyonlotor). Esta metodología puede ser implementada por proyectos viales para identificar los sitios de cruce de fauna y brindar recomendaciones sobre las medidas ambientales de mitigación a implementar asociadas a mejoras o construcción de caminos.

More than 48,700 deer-vehicle collisions occurred in Virginia from 2010 through 2011, the fifth highest number in all U.S. states. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is responsible for the removal and disposal of animal carcasses along the state road system. The predominant methods currently used (landfill and burial) have several costly disadvantages, including long travel distances to landfills, increasing landfill restrictions, and lack of viable burial areas. Other states have found static compost windrows to be an easy and cost-effective carcass management technique. Deer mortality static compost windrows were monitored for 1 year under conditions typical of a VDOT area maintenance headquarters facility. Windrows were analyzed for pathogen destruction and the degree to which underlying soil filtered leachate contaminants. In response to high windrow temperatures, indicator pathogens E. coli, Salmonella were reduced by 99.99% the first sampling day (Day 7) and ascarids were deemed non-viable by Day 77. Soil filtration of leachate was effective in reducing concentrations of ammonia, chloride, and total organic carbon. Nitrate, a contaminant of particular regulatory concern, had an estimated mass contaminant loss of 1.9 lb/acre, compared to the 8 to 45 lb/acre estimated loss from fertilizer application on agronomic crops in Virginia. Results from this study indicate that with properly constructed static compost windrows, (1) high temperatures destroy indicator pathogens; (2) the natural filtration of leachate through soil reduces deer mortality contaminant concentrations; and (3) the low volume of leachate from windrows results in nominal losses of nitrate and other contaminants. The study recommends that VDOT consider sharing these results with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to discuss options for a statewide composting program. This could provide VDOT with an additional carcass management option.

The effect of the road CV-797 on the vertebrate community of Carrascal de la Font Roja Natural Park (north of Alicante) during the period 2000-2008 was studied, analysing environmental variables associated with the road and its surroundings, and their relation with the registered roadkills through a multivariate analysis. The distribution of total roadkills is centred on watercourses and four black spots with different composition, which don't differ much compared to the three found for mammals. The worst affected group are reptiles, while mammal casualties are scarce. Although relationships with environmental variables are species-specific, reptile casualties are associated with areas that are more exposed to solar radiation. Among the birds, the clearest relation is the one between the common sparrow (Passer domesticus) and urban areas, while the rest of the species are roadkilled at their cornmon habitats. Amphibian roadkill is concentrated on two species, thus the relative impact is greater. The small number of mammal casualties does not allow conclusions to be drawn for these species except for the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) where roadkill was associated with open areas and crops. lt is proposed to continue with sampling so as to better understand the factors which influence roadkills., Se estudia el efecto de la carretera CV-797 sobre la comunidad de vertebrados del Parque Natural del Carrascal de la Font Roja (norte de Alicante) durante el periodo 2000-2008, analizando mediante un análisis multivariante, las variables ambientales de la carretera y su entorno próximo, y su relación con los atropellos registrados. Los atropellos totales se concentran sobre todo en torno a zonas de barranco, distinguiéndose cuatro puntos negros de distinta composición, que no difieren mucho en su localización respecto a los tres hallados para los mamíferos. El grupo más afectado es el de los reptiles, mientras que los atropellos a mamíferos son escasos. Aunque las relaciones con las variables ambientales son específicas para cada especie, los atropellos a reptiles se asocian a aquellas zonas más expuestas a la radiación solar. Entre las aves, la relación más clara es la del gorrión (Passer domesticus) con las áreas urbanas, mientras que las demás especies son atropelladas en sus hábitats cotidianos. Los atropellos de anfibios se concentran principalmente sobre dos especies, por lo que el impacto relativo es mayor. Respecto a los mamíferos, el reducido número de atropellos no permite sacar conclusiones para las especies excepto para el conejo (Oryctolagus cuniculus), asociado a zonas abiertas y cultivos, por lo que se propone continuar con el muestreo para conocer los factores que influyen en los atropellos.

Se estudia el efecto de la carretera CV-797 sobre la comunidad de vertebrados del Parque Natural del Carrascal de la Font Roja (norte de Alicante) durante el periodo 2000-2008, analizando mediante un análisis multivariante, las variables ambientales de la carretera y su entorno próximo, y su relación con los atropellos registrados. Los atropellos totales se concentran sobre todo en torno a zonas de barranco, distinguiéndose cuatro puntos negros de distinta composición, que no difieren mucho en su localización respecto a los tres hallados para los mamíferos. El grupo más afectado es el de los reptiles, mientras que los atropellos a mamíferos son escasos. Aunque las relaciones con las variables ambientales son específicas para cada especie, los atropellos a reptiles se asocian a aquellas zonas más expuestas a la radiación solar. Entre las aves, la relación más clara es la del gorrión (Passer domesticus) con las áreas urbanas, mientras que las demás especies son atropelladas en sus hábitats cotidianos. Los atropellos de anfibios se concentran principalmente sobre dos especies, por lo que el impacto relativo es mayor. Respecto a los mamíferos, el reducido número de atropellos no permite sacar conclusiones para las especies excepto para el conejo (Oryctolagus cuniculus), asociado a zonas abiertas y cultivos, por lo que se propone continuar con el muestreo para conocer los factores que influyen en los atropellos., The effect of the road CV-797 on the vertebrate community of Carrascal de la Font Roja Natural Park (north of Alicante) during the period 2000-2008 was studied, analysing environmental variables associated with the road and its surroundings, and their relation with the registered roadkills through a multivariate analysis. The distribution of total roadkills is centred on watercourses and four black spots with different composition, which don’t differ much compared to the three found for mammals. The worst affected group are reptiles, while mammal casualties are scarce. Although relationships with environmental variables are species-specific, reptile casualties are associated with areas that are more exposed to solar radiation. Among the birds, the clearest relation is the one between the common sparrow (Passer domesticus) and urban areas, while the rest of the species are roadkilled at their common habitats. Amphibian roadkill is concentrated on two species, thus the relative impact is greater. The small number of mammal casualties does not allow conclusions to be drawn for these species except for the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) where roadkill was associated with open areas and crops. It is proposed to continue with sampling so as to better understand the factors which influence roadkills.

The effect of the road CV-797 on the vertebrate community of Carrascal de la Font Roja Natural Park (north of Alicante) during the period 2000-2008 was studied, analysing environmental variables associated with the road and its surroundings, and their relation with the registered roadkills through a multivariate analysis. The distribution of total roadkills is centred on watercourses and four black spots with different composition, which don't differ much compared to the three found for mammals. The worst affected group are reptiles, while mammal casualties are scarce. Although relationships with environmental variables are species-specific, reptile casualties are associated with areas that are more exposed to solar radiation. Among the birds, the clearest relation is the one between the common sparrow (Passer domesticus) and urban areas, while the rest of the species are roadkilled at their cornmon habitats. Amphibian roadkill is concentrated on two species, thus the relative impact is greater. The small number of mammal casualties does not allow conclusions to be drawn for these species except for the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) where roadkill was associated with open areas and crops. lt is proposed to continue with sampling so as to better understand the factors which influence roadkills., Se estudia el efecto de la carretera CV-797 sobre la comunidad de vertebrados del Parque Natural del Carrascal de la Font Roja (norte de Alicante) durante el periodo 2000-2008, analizando mediante un análisis multivariante, las variables ambientales de la carretera y su entorno próximo, y su relación con los atropellos registrados. Los atropellos totales se concentran sobre todo en torno a zonas de barranco, distinguiéndose cuatro puntos negros de distinta composición, que no difieren mucho en su localización respecto a los tres hallados para los mamíferos. El grupo más afectado es el de los reptiles, mientras que los atropellos a mamíferos son escasos. Aunque las relaciones con las variables ambientales son específicas para cada especie, los atropellos a reptiles se asocian a aquellas zonas más expuestas a la radiación solar. Entre las aves, la relación más clara es la del gorrión (Passer domesticus) con las áreas urbanas, mientras que las demás especies son atropelladas en sus hábitats cotidianos. Los atropellos de anfibios se concentran principalmente sobre dos especies, por lo que el impacto relativo es mayor. Respecto a los mamíferos, el reducido número de atropellos no permite sacar conclusiones para las especies excepto para el conejo (Oryctolagus cuniculus), asociado a zonas abiertas y cultivos, por lo que se propone continuar con el muestreo para conocer los factores que influyen en los atropellos.

Se estudia el efecto de la carretera CV-797 sobre la comunidad de vertebrados del Parque Natural del Carrascal de la Font Roja (norte de Alicante) durante el periodo 2000-2008, analizando mediante un análisis multivariante, las variables ambientales de la carretera y su entorno próximo, y su relación con los atropellos registrados. Los atropellos totales se concentran sobre todo en torno a zonas de barranco, distinguiéndose cuatro puntos negros de distinta composición, que no difieren mucho en su localización respecto a los tres hallados para los mamíferos. El grupo más afectado es el de los reptiles, mientras que los atropellos a mamíferos son escasos. Aunque las relaciones con las variables ambientales son específicas para cada especie, los atropellos a reptiles se asocian a aquellas zonas más expuestas a la radiación solar. Entre las aves, la relación más clara es la del gorrión (Passer domesticus) con las áreas urbanas, mientras que las demás especies son atropelladas en sus hábitats cotidianos. Los atropellos de anfibios se concentran principalmente sobre dos especies, por lo que el impacto relativo es mayor. Respecto a los mamíferos, el reducido número de atropellos no permite sacar conclusiones para las especies excepto para el conejo (Oryctolagus cuniculus), asociado a zonas abiertas y cultivos, por lo que se propone continuar con el muestreo para conocer los factores que influyen en los atropellos., The effect of the road CV-797 on the vertebrate community of Carrascal de la Font Roja Natural Park (north of Alicante) during the period 2000-2008 was studied, analysing environmental variables associated with the road and its surroundings, and their relation with the registered roadkills through a multivariate analysis. The distribution of total roadkills is centred on watercourses and four black spots with different composition, which don’t differ much compared to the three found for mammals. The worst affected group are reptiles, while mammal casualties are scarce. Although relationships with environmental variables are species-specific, reptile casualties are associated with areas that are more exposed to solar radiation. Among the birds, the clearest relation is the one between the common sparrow (Passer domesticus) and urban areas, while the rest of the species are roadkilled at their common habitats. Amphibian roadkill is concentrated on two species, thus the relative impact is greater. The small number of mammal casualties does not allow conclusions to be drawn for these species except for the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) where roadkill was associated with open areas and crops. It is proposed to continue with sampling so as to better understand the factors which influence roadkills.

Presentation from a December 2, 2010 board meeting on highway mortality of deer populations in Utah.

Presentation from a December 2, 2010 board meeting on highway mortality of deer populations in Utah.

Animal-vehicle collisions are undesirable to the general public, to drivers, to insurance providers, to biologists, and presumably to the animals themselves. However, traffic-induced mortality (―roadkill‖) is difficult to mitigate in large part because scientists lack the empirical data required to understand the patterns and processes associated with roadkill. Roadkill is not randomly distributed in space or in time, but what are the primary determinants of roadkill? And do they differ across organismal groups? We monitored vertebrate roadkill at 6 wetland and 6 upland sites in Indiana twice a week for a period of 20 months to determine whether roadkill occurs predominantly near one habitat compared to the other. We documented 14,439 vertebrate carcasses that were mostly distributed near wetlands. A significant fraction of the roadkill was not identifiable based on morphology alone, so we used DNA barcoding as a key element of species assignment. A large proportion of the carcasses (88%) were amphibians, a taxonomic group that has declined precipitously in recent years. Overall, these roadkill data were used along with road and habitat characteristics to develop analytical models that, in the absence of field monitoring, should be useful for predicting sites where roadkill is expected to be substantial. In the case of future highway construction, our models have the potential to help reduce the overall levels of roadkill, and that has the added benefit of translating into fewer human injuries and monetary losses caused by human-wildlife collisions.

Conflicts between wildlife and human interests have increased in recent decades due to growing human populations and the resulting expansion of anthropogenic pressures into wildlife habitat. Our overall objectives were to evaluate the the potential impacts of wildlife on transportation in Indiana and vice-versa. The results presented in this final report summarize two aspects of our research: the impact of automotive traffic on wildlife (“road kill”; Part I), and the wildlife hazards present at general aviation airports around the state (“airstrike”; Part II). The road kill dataset indicated that at 13 survey routes traversing 180 linear km of road, 11,068 animals were killed by traffic. These animals included mammals, birds, reptiles, and (mostly) amphibians. GIS data indicates that nearby wetlands were typically associated with a high incidence of road kill. While road kills were detected in all months, there were obvious seasonal and weather related patterns in the data. Most road kills occurred from July through September, which was concurrent with peak temperatures and precipitation levels. We highlight a variety of animal-friendly engineering options that can be used to effectively reduce encounters between wildlife and drivers, resulting in fewer accidents and less road kill. With regard to the airstrike dataset, airport habitats consisted mainly of short grass (40.2% of total airport area), soybean fields (10.3%), corn fields (9.5%), runway systems (8.1%), other development (6.6%), woodlots (5.2%), medium grass (4.8%), tall grass (4.6%), and hayfields (3.2%). At least two types of wildlife attractants were present at each airport property, and the most common wildlife attractants included standing water (ephemeral), open culverts, crop fields, woodlot refugia, and gravel piles. Proportion of airport perimeters fenced ranged from 7.5% to 100%, but most airport perimeters were >40% fenced. Most airports with >25% of the perimeter enclosed by chain-link fencing

Roads promote high levels of animal-vehicle collisions and have one of the most visible man-made impacts on wildlife. In Portugal, SW Europe, very few ecological studies have focused on the impacts from roads on vertebrates. Knowledge of the main factors driving the emergence of hotspots of vertebrate mortality is still scarce. A segment of a main road 26-km long was sampled by car at an average speed of 20 km/h every two weeks for two years (54 surveys) between 1995 and 1997, collecting all road-killed specimens found. We defined road sections with high collision rates, or vertebrate-mortality hotspots (VMH), by detecting clusters of animal collision locations. The analysis was conducted by comparing the spatial pattern of road kills with that expected in a random situation. In such a condition, the likelihood of collisions for each road section would show a Poisson distribution. Differences of explanatory variables between hotspots and low-mortality sections were evaluated with the Mann-Whitney U-test. Also, a direct-gradient analysis (Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA)) was executed with the mortality rates of the 24 most-killed species and the explanatory variables considered. A total of 2421 vertebrate road-killed specimens were collected, which corresponded to nearly 46 specimens per 0.5 km per year. Eighty non-domestic species were recorded. Several sections were defined as VMH, both for all observations and for each vertebrate class. Results suggested that some road sections should receive particular mitigation actions given that mortality hotspots may arise, particularly sections where montado is the dominant habitat and where stream and other water courses run nearby and parallel to the road.

This study documents the magnitude of road mortality on snake species that occur in sagebrush steppe habitat, provides insight into how susceptibility to this mortality differs among species as well as by sex and age class of individuals, and examines how different landscape variables influence road-kill aggregations using a logistic regression model. I collected data by road cruising a 183-km road loop on the upper Snake River Plain in southeastern Idaho from May through October of 2003. I conducted 56 total routes, traveling 10,248 km and encountering a total of 253 snakes (0.025 snakes/km) over the six-month survey period; 93 percent of these animals were found dead on the road surface (DOR). The majority of observations belonged to two species, with gophersnakes (Pituophis catenifer) comprising 75 percent of all road records, and western rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) comprising 18 percent of all road records. Monitoring data from three of the largest snake hibernacula on the site indicate that rattlesnakes are the most abundant snake species, comprising 50 percent of all captures at trapping arrays since 1994. This suggests that gophersnakes may be more susceptible to road mortality due to higher vagility, or that our monitoring efforts do not effectively estimate their populations; this question remains to be explored. Overall, I documented more traffic casualties of adults than any other age class, the majority of which were males (64%). Road mortality varied seasonally by age and sex classes for both gophersnakes and rattlesnakes. More adult male gophersnakes were discovered DOR in May and June, while the death of adult females did not exhibit a trend. I documented a significant pulse of subadult mortality during the month of September. The seasonal trends in mortality of rattlesnakes differed from gophersnakes, but were not significant. This indicates that individuals may be more susceptible to road mortality during specific movements, such as mating or m

Highway 89 stretches from north to south across California, through Sierra County from Sierraville to Truckee. The highway bisects an important portion of the Loyalton-Truckee deer herd, as well as important habitat for forest carnivores, amphibians and other wildlife on the Tahoe National Forest. By 2002, several groups were working independently to investigate different aspects of animal-vehicle collisions along the highway. These independent efforts were the: • Continuation of a 20-plus year collection of carcass information on SR 89 by Caltrans • Investigation of the effects of roadside forest thinning on roadkill by University of California-Davis Agricultural Extension Service • Investigation of radio-collared deer movements across the highway by California Department of Fish and Game • Applications to study the effects of deicing salt on deer attraction by the Sierra County Fish and Game Commission • Long-term connectivity and habitat planning by the USDA Forest Service These groups and their efforts were brought together in 2002 when they were catalyzed by the USDA Forest Service into a stewardship team to work together collaboratively to improve the high wildlife mortality and increasing habitat fragmentation on the highway. Most efforts to mitigate similar highway impacts are precipitated by a department of transportation project. In the case of SR 89, no improvement for SR 89 was planned by Caltrans. Thus, instead of responding to a tight project timeline and budget, the Stewardship Team was able to proactively develop a connectivity and mitigation plan using Caltrans’ large roadkill database, the Forest Service’s large-scale habitat maps, and the other cooperators’ information. In 2004, Caltrans independently funded a $720,000 wildlife-mitigation project on SR 89, thus allowing the Stewardship Team to use its connectivity plan as the basis for decisions on prioritizing wildlife crossing structures. The Stewardship Team is using the connectivity plan to pr

In 2000, an expert-based decision-support model to identify and prioritize sites for ecopassages was developed for the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT). The model used a weighting algorithm and several ecological factors (chronic road-kill sites, landscape gradients, focal species hot spots, greenway linkages, presence of listed species, strategic habitat-conservation areas, riparian corridors, rare habitat types, existing conservation lands, and proposed road projects) to prioritize existing road segments for retrofits designed to reduce road-kills and restore important habitat linkages. In 2003, the Florida DOT began implementing the Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) process. This process was designed to examine and address potential environmental impacts prior to the planning, design, and construction of new transportation projects. Proposed projects are analyzed using an environmental-screening tool and reviewed by local and state officials and the public. In 2004-2005, we were engaged by the Florida DOT to update the prioritization-model results for use as a data layer in the environmental-screening process of ETDM. For this purpose the original calculating algorithm was used, with final priorities ranked on a scale of 0 to 1. Many updated coverages were available and cell resolution was improved to increase model precision and accuracy. Updated coverages included roads (including speed limit and annual average daily traffic factors), land cover, road-kills, road projects, and managed conservation lands. In addition, a new development-threat index based on road density, population density, 2003 existing land use, future land use and municipal boundaries was created. Datasets were combined into six categories for ranking: biological features, landscape features, infrastructure, managed conservation lands, conservation planning, and road-kill. For those road segments prioritized statewide, 72 percent were located in existing protected area

Roads promote high levels of animal-vehicle collisions and have one of the most visible man-made impacts on wildlife. In Portugal, SW Europe, very few ecological studies have focused on the impacts from roads on vertebrates. Knowledge of the main factors driving the emergence of hotspots of vertebrate mortality is still scarce. A segment of a main road 26-km long was sampled by car at an average speed of 20 km/h every two weeks for two years (54 surveys) between 1995 and 1997, collecting all road-killed specimens found. We defined road sections with high collision rates, or vertebrate-mortality hotspots (VMH), by detecting clusters of animal collision locations. The analysis was conducted by comparing the spatial pattern of road kills with that expected in a random situation. In such a condition, the likelihood of collisions for each road section would show a Poisson distribution. Differences of explanatory variables between hotspots and low-mortality sections were evaluated with the Mann-Whitney U-test. Also, a direct-gradient analysis (Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA)) was executed with the mortality rates of the 24 most-killed species and the explanatory variables considered. A total of 2421 vertebrate road-killed specimens were collected, which corresponded to nearly 46 specimens per 0.5 km per year. Eighty non-domestic species were recorded. Several sections were defined as VMH, both for all observations and for each vertebrate class. Results suggested that some road sections should receive particular mitigation actions given that mortality hotspots may arise, particularly sections where montado is the dominant habitat and where stream and other water courses run nearby and parallel to the road.

This study documents the magnitude of road mortality on snake species that occur in sagebrush steppe habitat, provides insight into how susceptibility to this mortality differs among species as well as by sex and age class of individuals, and examines how different landscape variables influence road-kill aggregations using a logistic regression model. I collected data by road cruising a 183-km road loop on the upper Snake River Plain in southeastern Idaho from May through October of 2003. I conducted 56 total routes, traveling 10,248 km and encountering a total of 253 snakes (0.025 snakes/km) over the six-month survey period; 93 percent of these animals were found dead on the road surface (DOR). The majority of observations belonged to two species, with gophersnakes (Pituophis catenifer) comprising 75 percent of all road records, and western rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) comprising 18 percent of all road records. Monitoring data from three of the largest snake hibernacula on the site indicate that rattlesnakes are the most abundant snake species, comprising 50 percent of all captures at trapping arrays since 1994. This suggests that gophersnakes may be more susceptible to road mortality due to higher vagility, or that our monitoring efforts do not effectively estimate their populations; this question remains to be explored. Overall, I documented more traffic casualties of adults than any other age class, the majority of which were males (64%). Road mortality varied seasonally by age and sex classes for both gophersnakes and rattlesnakes. More adult male gophersnakes were discovered DOR in May and June, while the death of adult females did not exhibit a trend. I documented a significant pulse of subadult mortality during the month of September. The seasonal trends in mortality of rattlesnakes differed from gophersnakes, but were not significant. This indicates that individuals may be more susceptible to road mortality during specific movements, such as mating or m

Highway 89 stretches from north to south across California, through Sierra County from Sierraville to Truckee. The highway bisects an important portion of the Loyalton-Truckee deer herd, as well as important habitat for forest carnivores, amphibians and other wildlife on the Tahoe National Forest. By 2002, several groups were working independently to investigate different aspects of animal-vehicle collisions along the highway. These independent efforts were the: • Continuation of a 20-plus year collection of carcass information on SR 89 by Caltrans • Investigation of the effects of roadside forest thinning on roadkill by University of California-Davis Agricultural Extension Service • Investigation of radio-collared deer movements across the highway by California Department of Fish and Game • Applications to study the effects of deicing salt on deer attraction by the Sierra County Fish and Game Commission • Long-term connectivity and habitat planning by the USDA Forest Service These groups and their efforts were brought together in 2002 when they were catalyzed by the USDA Forest Service into a stewardship team to work together collaboratively to improve the high wildlife mortality and increasing habitat fragmentation on the highway. Most efforts to mitigate similar highway impacts are precipitated by a department of transportation project. In the case of SR 89, no improvement for SR 89 was planned by Caltrans. Thus, instead of responding to a tight project timeline and budget, the Stewardship Team was able to proactively develop a connectivity and mitigation plan using Caltrans’ large roadkill database, the Forest Service’s large-scale habitat maps, and the other cooperators’ information. In 2004, Caltrans independently funded a $720,000 wildlife-mitigation project on SR 89, thus allowing the Stewardship Team to use its connectivity plan as the basis for decisions on prioritizing wildlife crossing structures. The Stewardship Team is using the connectivity plan to pr

In 2000, an expert-based decision-support model to identify and prioritize sites for ecopassages was developed for the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT). The model used a weighting algorithm and several ecological factors (chronic road-kill sites, landscape gradients, focal species hot spots, greenway linkages, presence of listed species, strategic habitat-conservation areas, riparian corridors, rare habitat types, existing conservation lands, and proposed road projects) to prioritize existing road segments for retrofits designed to reduce road-kills and restore important habitat linkages. In 2003, the Florida DOT began implementing the Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) process. This process was designed to examine and address potential environmental impacts prior to the planning, design, and construction of new transportation projects. Proposed projects are analyzed using an environmental-screening tool and reviewed by local and state officials and the public. In 2004-2005, we were engaged by the Florida DOT to update the prioritization-model results for use as a data layer in the environmental-screening process of ETDM. For this purpose the original calculating algorithm was used, with final priorities ranked on a scale of 0 to 1. Many updated coverages were available and cell resolution was improved to increase model precision and accuracy. Updated coverages included roads (including speed limit and annual average daily traffic factors), land cover, road-kills, road projects, and managed conservation lands. In addition, a new development-threat index based on road density, population density, 2003 existing land use, future land use and municipal boundaries was created. Datasets were combined into six categories for ranking: biological features, landscape features, infrastructure, managed conservation lands, conservation planning, and road-kill. For those road segments prioritized statewide, 72 percent were located in existing protected area

The Sandbar Wildlife Management Area (SWMA) is on the northeast shore of Lake Champlain in Vermont. The wetlands of SWMA are bisected by US Rt. 2, an arterial highway with average daily traffi c (ADT) of 10,200. There are hundreds of acres of wetlands and forested upland on both sides of Rt. 2. Wildlife commonly crosses the highway, which results in a high incidence of roadkill. Northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) are a signifi cant portion of the roadkill. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) in collaboration with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (VANR) installed silt fences as a barrier to keep animals off the highway. This is a short-term solution that also provided a test for the use of temporary fences to direct movement of animals. The long-term solution must include the installation of culverts and permanent fencing. A secondary benefi t of the project was to promote the needs for wildlife crossing in Vermont through media coverage of the project.

Funding source: Florida Department of Transportation Total Budget: $407,000 Project Period: April 2001 – April 2004 The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has documented an increase in the number of transportation-related bear deaths (roadkill) since the late 1970’s. In addition to impacts on bear populations, vehicle collisions with bears often are traumatic for the people involved and may cause significant collateral damage and personal injury. For these reasons, and because of the lack of definitive information on the subject, the FWC partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation to design a project that would quantify the impacts of roadkill on bear populations in Florida. Our study design incorporates two main features: population size enumeration and range delineation for bears in six core areas across Florida. As genetic analyses have improved and laboratory costs decreased, DNA techniques have been used for a wide variety of studies on bears. Our methodology involves sampling bears via hairs left on barbed wire strands surrounding bait sites (hair snare) randomly placed in a systematic grid across each study area. We will then derive population abundance estimates by using individual identification from the DNA analysis within a mark-recapture framework. We will determine both core and peripheral bear range across Florida. Core bear range is defined as that which contains breeding females and peripheral range as that which contains bear signs but no evidence of breeding females. Using an estimate of minimum patch size needed for bears, we sectioned the entire state into 10,000-acre blocks to determine whether bears are present or absent in each block. We polled local residents and area biologists to help ascertain areas occupied by bears. We will extrapolate densities derived from the mark-recapture abundance estimates to the entire area of core bear range within each of the six areas. The final product will be a detailed range

The U.S. is outgrowing the American dream. Between 1950 and 1990, urban land area increased more than twice as fast as population. Development sprawls into rural and natural areas, consuming over two million acres of farmland, open space and wildlife habitat per year. While largely influenced by demographic and socio-economic factors, public policies on transportation and land use have played an important role in shaping development patterns. If the rate of development continues at its current pace and follows today’s sprawling model, the amount of land developed in the next 25 years will equal the total amount developed since the country’s founding.

Funding source: Florida Department of Transportation Total Budget: $407,000 Project Period: April 2001 – April 2004 The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has documented an increase in the number of transportation-related bear deaths (roadkill) since the late 1970’s. In addition to impacts on bear populations, vehicle collisions with bears often are traumatic for the people involved and may cause significant collateral damage and personal injury. For these reasons, and because of the lack of definitive information on the subject, the FWC partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation to design a project that would quantify the impacts of roadkill on bear populations in Florida. Our study design incorporates two main features: population size enumeration and range delineation for bears in six core areas across Florida. As genetic analyses have improved and laboratory costs decreased, DNA techniques have been used for a wide variety of studies on bears. Our methodology involves sampling bears via hairs left on barbed wire strands surrounding bait sites (hair snare) randomly placed in a systematic grid across each study area. We will then derive population abundance estimates by using individual identification from the DNA analysis within a mark-recapture framework. We will determine both core and peripheral bear range across Florida. Core bear range is defined as that which contains breeding females and peripheral range as that which contains bear signs but no evidence of breeding females. Using an estimate of minimum patch size needed for bears, we sectioned the entire state into 10,000-acre blocks to determine whether bears are present or absent in each block. We polled local residents and area biologists to help ascertain areas occupied by bears. We will extrapolate densities derived from the mark-recapture abundance estimates to the entire area of core bear range within each of the six areas. The final product will be a detailed range

The Sandbar Wildlife Management Area (SWMA) is on the northeast shore of Lake Champlain in Vermont. The wetlands of SWMA are bisected by US Rt. 2, an arterial highway with average daily traffi c (ADT) of 10,200. There are hundreds of acres of wetlands and forested upland on both sides of Rt. 2. Wildlife commonly crosses the highway, which results in a high incidence of roadkill. Northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) are a signifi cant portion of the roadkill. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) in collaboration with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (VANR) installed silt fences as a barrier to keep animals off the highway. This is a short-term solution that also provided a test for the use of temporary fences to direct movement of animals. The long-term solution must include the installation of culverts and permanent fencing. A secondary benefi t of the project was to promote the needs for wildlife crossing in Vermont through media coverage of the project.

The U.S. is outgrowing the American dream. Between 1950 and 1990, urban land area increased more than twice as fast as population. Development sprawls into rural and natural areas, consuming over two million acres of farmland, open space and wildlife habitat per year. While largely influenced by demographic and socio-economic factors, public policies on transportation and land use have played an important role in shaping development patterns. If the rate of development continues at its current pace and follows today’s sprawling model, the amount of land developed in the next 25 years will equal the total amount developed since the country’s founding.

Funding source: Florida Department of Transportation Total Budget: $407,000 Project Period: April 2001 – April 2004 The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has documented an increase in the number of transportation-related bear deaths (roadkill) since the late 1970’s. In addition to impacts on bear populations, vehicle collisions with bears often are traumatic for the people involved and may cause significant collateral damage and personal injury. For these reasons, and because of the lack of definitive information on the subject, the FWC partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation to design a project that would quantify the impacts of roadkill on bear populations in Florida. Our study design incorporates two main features: population size enumeration and range delineation for bears in six core areas across Florida. As genetic analyses have improved and laboratory costs decreased, DNA techniques have been used for a wide variety of studies on bears. Our methodology involves sampling bears via hairs left on barbed wire strands surrounding bait sites (hair snare) randomly placed in a systematic grid across each study area. We will then derive population abundance estimates by using individual identification from the DNA analysis within a mark-recapture framework. We will determine both core and peripheral bear range across Florida. Core bear range is defined as that which contains breeding females and peripheral range as that which contains bear signs but no evidence of breeding females. Using an estimate of minimum patch size needed for bears, we sectioned the entire state into 10,000-acre blocks to determine whether bears are present or absent in each block. We polled local residents and area biologists to help ascertain areas occupied by bears. We will extrapolate densities derived from the mark-recapture abundance estimates to the entire area of core bear range within each of the six areas. The final product will be a detailed range

The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is an endangered cat with less than 120 individuals remaining in the United States. Ocelot roadkills are an important problem potentially threatening ocelot persistence in southern Texas. Landscape planning can provide options for the resolution of traffic-ocelot conflicts. We suggest several conservation strategies and tactics involving important road-habitat interfaces, road underpasses, and fences. Support of alternative recovery strategies (e.g., habitat restoration) may help offset ocelot roadkills, particularly along road segments where practical management is not effective.

Large numbers of Royal Terns (Sterna maxima) from breeding colonies in North Carolina and Virginia migrate to Sebastian Inlet, Florida for a winter residence. A road and two-lane bridge at the site result in many roadkills from collisions with motor vehicles. At least 148 Royal Terns have been killed in this manner since formal surveys were initiated in 1989; while opportunistic collection of dead, banded birds has been sporadically conducted since 1979. Recoveries of 82 bands during the 23-year period 1979 to 2001 have supplied considerable demographic data. Eleven Royal Tern breeding colonies were differentially represented among the band recoveries. Most banded mortalities were 0.5 yr age class juveniles, with an overall range of 5 months to 12 yr 7 months. Most mortalities occurred December through February. These trends and additional data are discussed.

Since 1976, the Ocala National Forest and surrounding areas have accounted for over 50 percent of all black bear roadkill in Florida. To better understand the dynamics involved with this source of mortality, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, in partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation and the United States Forest Service, began investigating the movements, habitat use, and home range dynamics of black bears relative to roads in Ocala National Forest. This paper presents the preliminary findings from the first two years of the study and focuses on the characteristics of bear crossings of State Road 40. We captured 94 bears (36F, 58M) and collected more than 3,400 locations from 77 radio-collared individuals. Radio-collared bears crossed State Road 40 a total of 324 times, with both sexes crossing at similar frequencies. Concomitant with telemetry locations, we documented 752 sets of bear tracks along a 17.7-kilometer disced transect adjacent to State Road 40. Bears crossed State Road 40 most frequently during the fall, with other peaks in spring and summer. We compared crossing sites to the available habitat adjacent to State Road 40 and documented road mortality sustained by bears since 1976. Bears crossed in young to medium aged stands of sand/pine scrub at higher frequencies than would be expected by chance. Bears crossed in mature sand/pine scrub and scrub oak stands at lower frequencies than would be expected by chance. The sites at which bears were most often struck by vehicles did not coincide with locations where bears most frequently crossed the road. There seem to be highway design features that may contribute to this phenomenon.

The diurnal movement patterns of Triturus vulgaris, T. cristatus, Pelobates fuscus, Bufo bufo, Rana temporaria, and R. arvalis were investigated during five breeding seasons (1994-1998). Two main questions were addressed: 1) What is the probability of an individual amphibian getting killed when crossing the road? and 2) What fraction of the amphibian populations gets killed by traffic? The rate of movement of 203 adult amphibians was recorded. Information on traffic loads was provided, and mortality risk was calculated depending on traffic loads and movement rate. The probability of getting killed ranged from 0.34 to 0.61 when crossing a road with a traffic load of 3,207 vehicles/day, and from 0.89 to 0.98 when crossing a motorway. The number of amphibians killed on the road was estimated by systematic counts. Population sizes were estimated for all ponds within 250m of the relevant highway stretch. Results indicate that about 10% of the adult population of P. fuscus and brown frogs (R. temporaria and R. arvalis) were killed annually by traffic at this site.

Certain combinations of time trends in traffic volume and traffic-related wildlife mortality can provide strong evidence for trends in the wildlife population itself. For example, if traffic volume increases over time while traffic-related wildlife mortality decreases over time, the wildlife population itself is almost certainly decreasing. From 1995 to 1999 the traffic volume on a road at the north end of Key Largo, Florida, increased steadily from 2,500 to 3,900 annual average daily traffic (AADT). Complete daily surveys of wildlife road kill over the same period, conducted by Florida State Parks employees, revealed significant declines in the numbers of both birds and herptiles killed over the same period. We argue that the combination of increasing traffic volume with decreasing road kills indicates declines in these wildlife populations. We present a general scheme for interpretation of joint trends in traffic volume and traffic-related wildlife mortality.

The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is an endangered cat with less than 120 individuals remaining in the United States. Ocelot roadkills are an important problem potentially threatening ocelot persistence in southern Texas. Landscape planning can provide options for the resolution of traffic-ocelot conflicts. We suggest several conservation strategies and tactics involving important road-habitat interfaces, road underpasses, and fences. Support of alternative recovery strategies (e.g., habitat restoration) may help offset ocelot roadkills, particularly along road segments where practical management is not effective.