Abstract
AbstractGray wolves (Canis lupus) are recolonizing many parts of central Europe and are a key part of international conservation directives. However, roads may hinder the reestablishment of gray wolves throughout their historic range by reducing landscape connectivity and increasing mortality from wildlife‐vehicle collisions. The impact of roads on wolves might be mitigated by the construction of green bridges (i.e., large vegetated overpasses, designed to accommodate the movement of wildlife over transportation corridors). In this study, we investigated the seasonal and diurnal use of a green bridge by wolves and three of their main prey species: red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and wild boar (Sus scrofa). We found that all four species used the green bridge. Wolves were most active in winter, whereas prey species were most active in spring and summer. All species were more active at dusk and during the night than at dawn and during the day. We found no evidence that wolf presence influenced bridge‐use by prey species, consistent with other tests of the prey‐trap hypothesis. Our results suggest that green bridges are used by wolves and prey species alike, and may foster connectivity and recolonization for these species in rewilding landscapes.
Highlights
Mike Plaschke and Manisha Bhardwaj are joint first authors.Contributed manuscript to the special section “Methods for integrated assessment of human-wildlife interactions and coexistence in agricultural landscapes.” Guest editors: Koenig, H.J., Carter, N., Ceausu, S., Kiffner, C., Lamb, C., Ford, A.T.Roads can have a number of negative impacts on wildlife, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, barrier effects and loss of landscape connectivity, and mortality due to collisions with vehicles (Forman, Sperling, Bissonette, & Clevenger, 2003; Jaeger et al, 2005; Eigenbrod, Hecnar, & Fahrig, 2009; van der Ree, Smith, & Grilo, 2015)
We aimed to asses: (a) the temporal trends in green bridge use by wolves; (b) the temporal trends in green bridge use by three prey species of wolves: red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa); and (c) the temporal correlation in green bridge use between wolf and prey species
We identified 931 crossing events: 111 by wolves (65 individuals, 46 wolf packs), 431 by red deer, 106 by roe deer, 41 by wild boar, and 43 by humans (21 by maintenance staff/researchers and 22 by civilians; see Supporting Information, Table S2)
Summary
Mike Plaschke and Manisha Bhardwaj are joint first authors.Contributed manuscript to the special section “Methods for integrated assessment of human-wildlife interactions and coexistence in agricultural landscapes.” Guest editors: Koenig, H.J., Carter, N., Ceausu, S., Kiffner, C., Lamb, C., Ford, A.T.Roads can have a number of negative impacts on wildlife, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, barrier effects and loss of landscape connectivity, and mortality due to collisions with vehicles (Forman, Sperling, Bissonette, & Clevenger, 2003; Jaeger et al, 2005; Eigenbrod, Hecnar, & Fahrig, 2009; van der Ree, Smith, & Grilo, 2015). Green bridges (wildlife overpasses) are large, vegetated structures designed to reduce the risk of wildlife mortality while improving habitat connectivity by facilitating the safe passage of wild animals from one side of a road to the other and reducing the exposure of individuals to traffic (Iuell et al, 2003; Smith et al, 2015) They can support the movement of multiple species (Clevenger & Waltho, 2005) and demographic classes (Ford, Barrueto, & Clevenger, 2017) and offer support in conservation or protection of a broad variety of species from the impacts of roads
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