Except the directly negative effect such as the road collision, what kind of effects can the road or traffic have on the wild animals? I have noticed the road collision and habitat fragment. Now I want to know more effects of methods or references on this field.
Hi Feng,
Other than the road collision and habitat fragmentation, the habitat degradation also takes place and the other effects includes alterations to light, moisture and wind regimes due to the creation of edges, pollution from traffic, e.g., light, noise, and chemical, and facilitating the spread and dispersal of weeds and feral animals.
Please go through the link, Hope you will find the answer.
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol16/iss1/art48/
Good Luck..
Roads with high traffic, can also scary animals it is possible to measure it by numbers of collision on these roads. Becouse wild animals don't should cross loud road with high traffic.
The roadkill of wild animals is a global problem and within this context the are several scientiphic publications which deal with that issue (Road Ecology). Some referrences:
Book: Road Ecology: Science and Solutions. by Forman et al.
BAGER, A. & DA ROSA, C. INFLUENCE OF SAMPLING EFFORT ON THE ESTIMATED RICHNESS OF ROAD-KILLED VERTEBRATE WILDLIFE. DOI 10.1007/S00267-011-9656-X (and bibliography cited here).
Regards,
There is a rich literature in "road ecology". Indirect effects of roads include noise, visual barriers, chemical influences on neighboring ecosystems (think road salt, petrochemicals), erosion/siltation (more an issue for unpaved forest roads, which are very extensive), disruption of surface hydrology (roads going through wetlands, other aquatic systems), conduits for species invasion (for ex along medians, berms), fragmentation and genetic isolation of populations (smaller vertebrates, slower moving especially), changing of sex ratios in turtles (females must migrate to nest), and on and on and on! See reviews by Trombulak and colleagues, Forman and colleagues, Fahrig, etc. For a nice read, the Island Press book "Road Ecology: Science and Solutions" is a good place to begin! (mentioned above as well)
You can see other question in research Gate:
How to quantify the effect of roads and other urban structures on bird communities, in different landscapes?
https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_to_quantify_the_effect_of_roads_and_other_urban_structures_on_bird_communities_in_different_landscapes?exp_tc=tprc
You can contact for this with Dr. Juan Domingo Delgado, who is in ResearchGate. He is one of the main experts on such matter in Spain and especially in oceanic islands, and has published very interesting papers on road ecology in the Canary Islands, covering effects on climate, biodiversity and conservation in general...
Small update to this question, as I stumbled upon it when searching what the public knows about road ecology:
There are also indirect effects like increase in poaching and pollution due to the enhanced accessibility of the area via roads.
I also recommend this article for an overview: Article From roadkill to road ecology: A review of the ecological ef...
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