Abstract
Grosman, P. D., J. A. G. Jaeger, P. M. Biron, C. Dussault, and J.-P. Ouellet. 2009. Reducing moose–vehicle collisions through salt pool removal and displacement: an agent-based modeling approach. Ecology and Society 14(2): 17. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02941-140217
Highlights
Humans have been constructing road networks for many centuries, and the effects of roads on the distribution and abundance of wildlife have become an important issue (Canters et al 1997, Jaeger 2002, Sherwood et al 2002, Spellerberg 2002, Forman et al 2003, National Research Council of the National Academies 2006)
Using the computer simulation technique of agent-based modeling, this study investigated whether salt pool removal and displacement, i.e., a compensatory salt pool set up 100 to 1500 m away from the road shoulder, would reduce the number of moose–vehicle collisions
Only three of the 12 real moose crossed the road for a total of 53 times: two did so twice, and the other, whose home range was bisected by Route 175, crossed 49 times (Fig. 8)
Summary
Humans have been constructing road networks for many centuries, and the effects of roads on the distribution and abundance of wildlife have become an important issue (Canters et al 1997, Jaeger 2002, Sherwood et al 2002, Spellerberg 2002, Forman et al 2003, National Research Council of the National Academies 2006). For many members of modern societies, wildlife–vehicle collisions are one of the rare occasions when they directly experience the prevailing conflicts between wildlife populations and expanding human societies. Roads and traffic fragment the habitats of many wildlife species, leading to a decrease in habitat amount and quality, increased mortality because of collisions with vehicles, reduced access to resources on the other side of the road, and the subdivision of animal populations into smaller and more vulnerable fractions (Jaeger et al 2005). In the case of larger land mammals, wildlife–vehicle collisions pose a risk to traffic safety (Forman et al 2003). There are several million vehicle collisions with moose (Alces alces), elk (Cervus canadensis), caribou (Rangifer tarandus), and other members of the cervidae family each year (Groot Bruinderink and Hazebroek 1996, Romin and Bissonette 1996, Conover 1997).
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