Delimiting road-effect zones for threatened species: implications for mitigation fencing
J. Mark Peaden A , Tracey D. Tuberville B , Kurt A. Buhlmann B , Melia G. Nafus A C and Brian D. Todd A D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
B University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Lab, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA.
C San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Rd, Escondido, CA 92027, USA.
D Corresponding author. Email: btodd@ucdavis.edu
Wildlife Research 42(8) 650-659 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR15082
Submitted: 21 April 2015 Accepted: 2 November 2015 Published: 18 December 2015
Abstract
Context: Roads are a pernicious form of habitat loss for many wildlife populations because their effects often extend far beyond the roads themselves, giving rise to reduced wildlife abundance in road-effect zones. Quantifying the extent of road-effect zones more accurately portrays their impact on populations and the true extent to which habitat is lost for many species.
Aim: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate ways of determining the extent of road-effect zones for a model study species to better quantify the effect of roads on habitat loss.
Methods: We conducted road-side surveys for signs of Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) 0, 200, 400, 800 and 1600 m from county roads and interstates, two of the most common road types in critical habitat of this threatened species. Using data from these road-side surveys, we estimated the extent of road-effect zones using piecewise regression and modified von Bertalanffy models.
Key results: We found reduced abundances of tortoise sign along both county roads and interstates. Reductions extended farther from the large, high-traffic interstate than from the smaller, lower-traffic county roads (306 m versus 230 m). The increase in the abundance of tortoise signs with distance from roads approximated a negative exponential curve.
Conclusions: Interstate and county roads both contribute to habitat loss in road-side areas by making these habitats unsuitable to desert tortoises, presumably by removing animals via mortality from collisions with vehicles. Larger roads with greater traffic have more extensive effects.
Implications: Roadside mitigation fencing has been proposed as one way to reduce mortality of desert tortoises and to reclaim habitat by allowing tortoises to recolonise currently depauperate road-effect zones. Immediate mortality is more likely to be prevented by fencing county roads where tortoises occur closer to roads and are more likely to be struck by vehicles and killed. However, fencing interstate should yield more reclaimed habitat than that obtained from fencing county roads. Managers must consider balancing these goals along with other concerns when deciding where to place roadside fencing.
Additional keywords: conservation, road ecology, species recovery, turtle.
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