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Vasiliev D, Hazlett R, Hutchinson KL, Bornmalm L. Light at the end of the tunnel: Innovative opportunities for saving tropical biodiversity. AMBIO 2024; 53:702-717. [PMID: 38353913 PMCID: PMC10992326 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-023-01970-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 09/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The expansion of roads into wilderness areas and biodiversity hotspots in the Global South seems inevitable and is predicted to bring about significant biodiversity loss. Even so, existing widespread strategies aiming to mitigate the direct and indirect impacts of roads on the environment have been of limited effectiveness. These tactics, including construction of fencing, wildlife crossings on paved roads, and establishment of protected areas along the roads, are unlikely to be sufficient for protecting diverse species assemblages from roadkill, habitat fragmentation, and anthropogenic activity in tropics. This indicates the need for integration of more ambitious approaches into the conservation toolkit, such as the constructing tunnels, covered ways, and elevated roads. Although these tools could significantly support conservation efforts to save tropical biodiversity, to date, they are rarely considered. Here, we discuss factors which determine the need for application of these approaches in the Global South. We highlight the often-overlooked long-term benefits associated with the application of the proposed tools. We also discuss the potential challenges and risks, and the ways to minimise them. Hopefully this article will encourage practitioners to integrate these strategies into conservation toolkits and allow policy-makers and investors to make informed decisions on sustainable road infrastructure development in the Global South.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Vasiliev
- Turiba University, 68 Graudu Street, Riga, 1030, Latvia.
| | - Richard Hazlett
- Pomona College, 333 N College Way, Claremont, CA, 91711, USA
| | | | - Lennart Bornmalm
- University of Gothenburg, Universitetsplatsen 1, 405 30, Göteborg, Sweden
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2
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Otero BF, Herranz J, Malo JE. Bird flight behavior, collision risk and mitigation options at high-speed railway viaducts. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 902:166253. [PMID: 37574054 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
High-speed railway (HSR) networks are rapidly expanding and are predicted to continue to grow over coming decades. However, there is scant knowledge of their environmental impacts. Their possible effects on bird mortality, particularly at viaducts, gives especial cause for concern. This work presents the results of a nine-month monitoring of bird activity in the vicinity of three HSR viaducts in Central Spain. The study focused on the effects of the infrastructure regarding bird frequentation of the site and on bird flight activity in the danger zone for collision with passing trains. The findings show (i) that bird communities may differ markedly between sites and (ii) that bird activity increases near the railway together with changes in relative species abundances. Furthermore, (iii) birds show a significant tendency to avoid flying across the danger zone, but (iv) all kinds of birds are at a real risk of collisions with trains at viaducts. The greatest danger is at viaduct extremes rather than in their central section, particularly during gusts of wind and for small or medium-sized birds. It also appears that relatively low viaducts might pose greater risk. In practical terms, these results (i) emphasise the need for thorough prior prospection of bird species present, and their flight patterns, where new viaducts are to be built, (ii) show that there is a real risk of bird collisions with trains at viaducts, which should be mitigated, with particular attention due to viaduct extremes and areas where their height is not much above the surrounding vegetation and (iii) strongly indicate the need to minimise viaduct features that may attract birds to them, for example as potential nest sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- B F Otero
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG-UAM), Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - J Herranz
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG-UAM), Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - J E Malo
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG-UAM), Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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3
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de Jonge MMJ, Gallego‐Zamorano J, Huijbregts MAJ, Schipper AM, Benítez‐López A. The impacts of linear infrastructure on terrestrial vertebrate populations: A trait-based approach. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:7217-7233. [PMID: 36166319 PMCID: PMC9827953 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
While linear infrastructures, such as roads and power lines, are vital to human development, they may also have negative impacts on wildlife populations up to several kilometres into the surrounding environment (infrastructure-effect zones, IEZs). However, species-specific IEZs are not available for the vast majority of species, hampering global assessments of infrastructure impacts on wildlife. Here, we synthesized 253 studies worldwide to quantify the magnitude and spatial extent of infrastructure impacts on the abundance of 792 vertebrate species. We also identified the extent to which species traits, infrastructure type and habitat modulate IEZs for vertebrate species. Our results reveal contrasting responses across taxa based on the local context and species traits. Carnivorous mammals were generally more abundant in the proximity of infrastructure. In turn, medium- to large-sized non-carnivorous mammals (>1 kg) were less abundant near infrastructure across habitats, while their smaller counterparts were more abundant close to infrastructure in open habitats. Bird abundance was reduced near infrastructure with larger IEZs for non-carnivorous than for carnivorous species. Furthermore, birds experienced larger IEZs in closed (carnivores: ≈130 m, non-carnivores: >1 km) compared to open habitats (carnivores: ≈70 m, non-carnivores: ≈470 m). Reptiles were more abundant near infrastructure in closed habitats but not in open habitats where abundances were reduced within an IEZ of ≈90 m. Finally, IEZs were relatively small in amphibians (<30 m). These results indicate that infrastructure impact assessments should differentiate IEZs across species and local contexts in order to capture the variety of responses to infrastructure. Our trait-based synthetic approach can be applied in large-scale assessments of the impacts of current and future infrastructure developments across multiple species, including those for which infrastructure responses are not known from empirical data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melinda M. J. de Jonge
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES)Radboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Juan Gallego‐Zamorano
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES)Radboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Mark A. J. Huijbregts
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES)Radboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Aafke M. Schipper
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES)Radboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
- PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment AgencyThe HagueThe Netherlands
| | - Ana Benítez‐López
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES)Radboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
- Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de DoñanaConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EBD‐CSIC)SevillaSpain
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of SciencesUniversity of GranadaGranadaSpain
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Takahashi Y, Suzuki F, Tsuji Y. Spatio-temporal patterns of vertebrate roadkills in a suburban area in northern Japan. MAMMAL RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-022-00661-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Frye GG, Lindberg MS, Merizon RA. Differential survival in the presence of spatially structured ptarmigan harvest suggests additive mortality. J Wildl Manage 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Graham G. Frye
- Institute of Arctic Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks AK 99707 USA
| | - Mark S. Lindberg
- Institute of Arctic Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks AK 99707 USA
| | - Richard A. Merizon
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game 1801 South Margaret Drive Palmer AK 99645 USA
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Marneweck CJ, Katzner TE, Jachowski DS. Predicted climate-induced reductions in scavenging in eastern North America. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:3383-3394. [PMID: 33894030 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Scavenging is an important function within ecosystems where scavengers remove organic matter, reduce disease, stabilize food webs, and generally make ecosystems more resilient to environmental changes. Global change (i.e., changing climate and increasing human impact) is currently influencing scavenger communities. Thus, understanding what promotes species richness in scavenger communities can help prioritize management actions. Using a long-term dataset from camera traps deployed with animal carcasses as bait along a 1881 km latitudinal gradient in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern USA, we investigated the relative impact of climate and humans on the species richness and diversity of vertebrate scavengers. Our most supported models for both mammalian and avian scavengers included climatic, but not human, variables. The richness of mammalian and avian scavengers detected was highest during relatively warm (5-10°C) and dry (100-150 mm precipitation) winters, when food was likely limited and both reliance on and detection of carrion was high. The diversity of mammalian and avian scavengers detected was highest under drier conditions. We then used these results to project the future species richness of scavengers that would be detected within our sampling area and under the climate scenario of 2070 (emissions level RCP8.5). Our predictions suggest up to 80% and 67% reductions, respectively, in the richness of avian and mammalian scavengers that would be detected at baited sites. Climate-induced shifts in behavior (i.e., reduction in scavenging, even if present) at this scale could have cascading implications for ecosystem function, resilience, and human health. Further, our study highlights the importance of conducting studies of scavenger community dynamics within ecosystems across wide spatial gradients within temperate environments. More broadly, these findings build upon our understanding of the impacts of climate-induced adjustments in behavior that can likely have negative impacts on systems at a large scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney J Marneweck
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - Todd E Katzner
- U.S. Geological Survey, Forest & Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID, USA
| | - David S Jachowski
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
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Where wildlife and traffic collide: Roadkill rates change through time in a wildlife-tourism hotspot. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
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How far from the road should land cover be assessed? A case study on mesopredator mortality on roads. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-021-01461-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe methods used to assess the significance of land cover in the vicinity of a road for the mortality of mesopredators are diverse. In assessing the effect of land cover along the road on road causalities, scientists use various buffer sizes, or even no buffer along the road. The aim of this study was to verify how results of land cover effects on the mortality of mesopredators on roads may differ when analyzing various buffer sizes from the road. We assessed road causalities in the Warmian-Masurian voivodeship (Poland) from 3 consecutive years: 2015, 2016, and 2017. The roads were divided into equal sections of 2000 m each with buffer size of radius: 10, 250, 500, and 1000 m. We analyzed the number of road kills of red fox and European badger separately in a generalized linear model, whereas explanatory variables we used land cover types (based on the Corine Land Cover inventory) and traffic volume. Mean annual mortality from road collisions amounts to 2.36% of the red fox population and 3.82% of the European badger population. We found that the buffer size determines the results of the impact of land cover on mesocarnivore mortality on roads. The red fox differed from the European badger in response to land cover depending on the buffer size. The differences we have shown relate in particular to built-up areas. Our results indicate a 500-m buffer as best reflecting the land cover effects in road kills of both species. This was confirmed by model evaluation and a tendency to use or avoid the vicinity of human settlements of the analyzed species. We concluded that buffer size will probably affect mostly the significance of cover types that are spatially correlated with roads, positively or negatively. We suggest that the home range size of given species in local conditions should be assessed before determining the size of the buffer for analysis.
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Hill JE, DeVault TL, Belant JL. A review of ecological factors promoting road use by mammals. Mamm Rev 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob E. Hill
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry 1 Forestry Drive Syracuse NY13210USA
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia PO Drawer E Aiken SC29802USA
| | - Travis L. DeVault
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia PO Drawer E Aiken SC29802USA
| | - Jerrold L. Belant
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry 1 Forestry Drive Syracuse NY13210USA
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Russo LF, Barrientos R, Fabrizio M, Di Febbraro M, Loy A. Prioritizing road‐kill mitigation areas: A spatially explicit national‐scale model for an elusive carnivore. DIVERS DISTRIB 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Luca F. Russo
- Department of Biosciences and The Territory Università degli Studi del Molise Pesche Italy
- Kayla Nature s.r.l.s Napoli Italy
| | - Rafael Barrientos
- Road Ecology Lab Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution Complutense University of Madrid Madrid Spain
- Departament of Life Sciences University of Alcala Alcalá de Henares Spain
| | - Mauro Fabrizio
- Department of Biosciences and The Territory Università degli Studi del Molise Pesche Italy
| | - Mirko Di Febbraro
- Department of Biosciences and The Territory Università degli Studi del Molise Pesche Italy
| | - Anna Loy
- Department of Biosciences and The Territory Università degli Studi del Molise Pesche Italy
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Anile S, Devillard S, Ragni B, Rovero F, Mattucci F, Valvo ML. Habitat fragmentation and anthropogenic factors affect wildcat Felis silvestris silvestris occupancy and detectability on Mt Etna. WILDLIFE BIOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.2981/wlb.00561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Anile
- S. Anile, (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8871-9615) ✉ , Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
| | - Sebastien Devillard
- S. Devillard, Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Bernardino Ragni
- B. Ragni, Dipto di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Univ. degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Francesco Rovero
- F. Rovero, Dept of Biology, Univ. of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy, and: Sezione di Biodiversità Tropicale, MUSE – Museo delle Scienze di Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Federica Mattucci
- F. Mattucci, Laboratorio di Genetica, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Bologna, Italy
| | - Mario Lo Valvo
- M. Lo Valvo, Dipto STEBICEF, Univ. di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Planillo A, Malo JE. Infrastructure features outperform environmental variables explaining rabbit abundance around motorways. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:942-952. [PMID: 29375768 PMCID: PMC5773299 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Revised: 11/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Human disturbance is widespread across landscapes in the form of roads that alter wildlife populations. Knowing which road features are responsible for the species response and their relevance in comparison with environmental variables will provide useful information for effective conservation measures. We sampled relative abundance of European rabbits, a very widespread species, in motorway verges at regional scale, in an area with large variability in environmental and infrastructure conditions. Environmental variables included vegetation structure, plant productivity, distance to water sources, and altitude. Infrastructure characteristics were the type of vegetation in verges, verge width, traffic volume, and the presence of embankments. We performed a variance partitioning analysis to determine the relative importance of two sets of variables on rabbit abundance. Additionally, we identified the most important variables and their effects model averaging after model selection by AICc on hypothesis‐based models. As a group, infrastructure features explained four times more variability in rabbit abundance than environmental variables, being the effects of the former critical in motorway stretches located in altered landscapes with no available habitat for rabbits, such as agricultural fields. Model selection and Akaike weights showed that verge width and traffic volume are the most important variables explaining rabbit abundance index, with positive and negative effects, respectively. In the light of these results, the response of species to the infrastructure can be modulated through the modification of motorway features, being some of them manageable in the design phase. The identification of such features leads to suggestions for improvement through low‐cost corrective measures and conservation plans. As a general indication, keeping motorway verges less than 10 m wide will prevent high densities of rabbits and avoid the unwanted effects that rabbit populations can generate in some areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimara Planillo
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG) Department of Ecology Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Madrid Spain
| | - Juan E Malo
- Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG) Department of Ecology Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Madrid Spain
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