How often does a strictly arboreal mammal voluntarily cross roads? New insights into the behaviour of the hazel dormouse in roadside habitats

Abstract

Abstract. Roads are a threat to biological diversity. Especially the hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) can be badly influenced by fragmentation due to its strictly arboreal activity. In this study a Northern German dormouse population living in roadside habitats and on road islands at crossroads was investigated to find out if road crossing is an exceptional behaviour or if it happens regularly. With capture-mark-recapture-method 30 crossings (mostly across a federal highway, three of them across a federal motorway) and via telemetry 27 crossings over federal highway and smaller streets were observed. Our study gives evidence, that road crossing can be a relatively frequent behaviour, as 18 % of the mark-recaptured and 60 % of the radio marked animals crossed roads, but it remains unclear, under which circumstances road crossing takes place.