Build a Bridge and Get Over it: The Effect of Bridges Over Water on Terrestrial Animal Presence

Abstract

Human infrastructure has resulted in habitat disturbance both inside and outside protected areas (Makki et al. 2013). Infrastructure disturbs habitats through fragmentation, resulting in changes in species composition (Brittingham & Temple 1983; Yahner 1988; Winslow et al. 2000). Roads have been widely studied as causes of habitat fragmentation because they divide the landscape and decrease canopy cover (McLaren et al. 2011). Despite the similarity between bridges and roads as man-made infrastructure, bridges link habitats and can facilitate rather than hinder movement (e.g. Way 2009).