Limited Wildlife Diversity at Highway Right-of-Way Crossings

This project included estimation of animal occurrence near and using structures (e.g., culverts, street, and RR crossing structures) to cross the Interstate-80 right-of-way in the Sierra Nevada, California. A combination of track plates near over-crossings and remote cameras at under-crossings was used to index wildlife occurrence and crossings. Diversity was relatively low in the highway right-of-way and at highway under-crossings. Across six highway under-crossings, only eight of 38 possible species were observed moving through these crossings from one side of the highway right-of-way to the other. Alpha diversity at highway crossings ranged widely for wildlife near street under and over-crossings, but was not related to nearby land development. Wildlife use of existing under-crossing structures was inversely proportional to the presence of humans and frequency of human use of the same structures. This has important implications for effectiveness of existing structures and purpose-built “wildlife crossings” to provide for wildlife movement

Model for rural transportation planning considering simulating mobility and traffic kills in the badger Meles meles

Large-scale spatial planning requires careful use and presentation of spatial data as it provides a means for communication with local stakeholders and decision makers. This is especially true for endangered species, such as the badger (Meles meles) in the Netherlands. To effectively mitigate the badger's traffic mortality in an area, two types of tools are needed. The first one estimates the probability of a successful road crossing for individual animals. The second tool is GIS-based and not only models the movement patterns of animals but also estimates an animal's daily number of road crossings. With data on population size as well as on road and traffic characteristics, a combination of both tools provides a measure of the mortality risk roads pose to wildlife in an area. Such estimations proved to be invaluable in a planning process with local inhabitants in the municipality of Brummen (the Netherlands), where ecological as well as safety problems appear. Our study demonstrates the applicability of GIS tools in balancing ecological consequences of road network options with a different distribution of traffic flows over the area in spatial planning and ecology

Assessing road effects on bats: the role of landscape, road features and bat activity on road kills

Estudos recentes sugerem que as estradas podem ter um impacto significativo nas populações de morcegos. Este é um dos grupos de vertebrados europeus mais ameaçado, porém continua a faltar informação sobre quais os principais factores que determinam este impacto e quais as possíveis medidas de mitigação. Entre Março e Outubro de 2009, foram amostrados diariamente 51 km de três tipos de rodovias. Recolhemos 154 morcegos atropelados, pertencentes a 11 espécies, as mais frequentes foram Pipistrellus kuhlii e P. pygmaeus, representando cerca de 64% da amostra. Foram também recolhidas espécies com estatuto de ameaça ou pouco conhecidas, talcomo, Rhinolophus ferrumequinume Barbastella barbastellusA maioria da mortalidade ocorreu entre o final do Verão e o princípio do Outono. Aactividade dos morcegos foi também monitorizada na área de estudo e encontrou-se uma relação positiva forte entre as áreas com maior actividade e os hotspots de mortalidade de morcegos. As características da paisagem foram o conjunto mais importante na explicação do padrão da mortalidade, tendo sido registado um maior número de atropelamentos em locais onde a estrada atravessa habitats de grande qualidade. Os resultados indicam também que o volume do tráfego e a proximidade aos abrigos contribui para o incrementoda mortalidade. Relativamente à actividade dos morcegos, não encontramos uma clara evidência de que os morcegos evitem a proximidade das estradas; ABSTRACT:Recent studies suggest that roads can significantly impact bat populations. Thought bats are one of the most threatened groups of European vertebrates, studies aiming to quantify bat mortality and determine the main factors driving it are still scarce. Between March and October 2009, we daily surveyed road killed bats in a transect of 51 km including different types of roads, in southern Portugal. Bat activity was also evaluated on roads and their surroundings. We found 154 road-killed bats of 11 species. Pipistrellus kuhlii andP. pygmaeusrepresented 64% of total specimens collected. We also found threatened and poorly known species like Barbastella barbastellusand Rhinolophus ferrumequinum. A peak of mortality occurred mostly in late summer and early autumn. Spatial analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between core activity areas and the bat mortality hotspots. Landscape features were the most important variable set in explaining bat casualties. Nevertheless, bat activity, distance to known roosts and traffic volume also had a significant influenceon it. Concerning activity data, we found no clear evidence of road avoidance by bats

Ensayos de mejora germinativa y modelos de nicho ecológico para especies de flora amenazada en Castilla y León, España

[ES] El presente trabajo doctoral se inscribe en el ámbito de los estudios de Biología de Conservación, aplicados en concreto a varias especies vegetales consideradas de interés en el territorio geográfico de Castilla y León (catalogadas en las categorías de “En peligro de extinción (EN)” o “Vulnerable (VU)”, según el Decreto 63/2007, de 14 de junio, “por el que se crean el Catálogo de Flora Protegida de Castilla y León y la figura de protección denominada Microrreserva de Flora”). Las especies son: Astragalus devesae Talavera, A. González & G. López (Fabaceae, EN), Isatis platyloba Link ex Steud. (Brassicaceae, VU), Rhaponticum exaltatum (Cutanda ex Willk.) Greuter (Compositae, VU), Tephroseris coincyi (Rouy) Holub (Compositae, EN), Succisella microcephala (Willk.) G. Beck (Dipsacaceae, VU) y Veronica chamaepithyoides Lam. (Plantaginaceae, EN). Hemos aplicado distintas metodologías teórico-prácticas de esta rama del conocimiento con el objetivo de, por una parte, documentar aspectos relacionados con los requerimientos germinativos hasta el momento poco conocidos de estas especies, que además, en el caso de una de ellas nos han permitido obtener plántulas suficientes como para poder realizar un ensayo de reforzamiento poblacional. Por otra, generar modelos de nicho ecológico de esas mismas especies a tiempo presente y en escenarios futuros de cambio climático, utilizando los resultados obtenidos para diferentes fines, desde tratar de localizar nuevas poblaciones, a identificar lugares potencialmente idóneos para albergar nuevas poblacionales experimentales, o también, para evaluar la capacidad de las actuales áreas protegidas para mantener las poblaciones de estas especies en el futuro