Many research papers have been focused on the effects of motorised vehicles on amphibian populations that cross busy roads, from all over the world. These focus on mortality caused by vehicle strikes, but all neglect the fact that cyclists and other vehicles use the roads as well. I was wondering if any studies have been carried out looking at the specific effects of cyclists, within a city on a population of amphibians which faces no other option but to cross a busy road/path.
I am also interested in seeing if studies have trialed ways to help reduce mortality.
I am unaware of studies specifically addressing the impacts of cyclists on busy roads shared with other vehicles. I suspect it would be a challenge to measure the effects of cyclists when motorized vehicles are present because for most impact variables that you might consider (e.g., noise disturbance, pollutants, visual disturbance, etc.) the signal from the vehicles would easily drown out and mask any signal from the cyclists (except perhaps for visual disturbance). Other known impact variables of busy roads (e.g., road surface, road width, etc.) are not influenced by the type of vehicle. However, there have been several comparative studies of vehicles/hikers/cyclists on recreational trails and reviews of ecological impacts of mountain biking (http://www.imbacanada.com/sites/default/files/EcoEffects_Miistakis.pdf; http://www.pacificbio.org/publications/vegetation/state_parks/wa_east/Mt_Spokane_Trails_PBI_report.pdf; http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/FCRP020.pdf/$file/FCRP020.pdf). These resources may not directly answer your question, but they might help you with study design if you tackle this research. Sorry I can't be more helpful!
see a good study of roadkill:
Desmond, J. 2013. The Requiem for a Roadkill. In Kopnina, H. and Shoreman-Ouimet, E. Environmental Anthropology: Future Trends. Routledge, New York and Oxford. Pp. 46-69.
Hi Steven, this is actually a question I've been interested in (but have never done anything about), since the places that I grew up had a lot of riparian areas and wetlands AND a lot of bike paths.
I suggest you look up work by Dr. Lenore Fahrig at Carleton University - she is the expert on roads and wildlife in Canada
https://www.carleton.ca/biology/people/lenore-fahrig/
We describe ways to reduce mortality in this paper:
Schmidt, B R; Zumbach, S (2008). Amphibian Road Mortality and How to Prevent It: A Review. In: Mitchell, J C; Jung Brown, R E; Bartolomew, B. Urban Herpetology. St. Louis, Missouri, 157-167. ISBN 978-0916984793.
The pdf: http://www.zora.uzh.ch/10142/2/194V.pdf
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