Roads and
their Effect on Wildlife
FORSite
website: www.cnr.vt.edu/forsite/roadkill/
SOLs
we will be studying: LS.5 and LS.12
Why
study road kills?
·
Estimated
one million vertebrates per day are killed on roads
·
In
The Netherlands:
Ø 159,000 mammals and 653,00
birds are killed per year
·
In
Australia:
Ø 5 million frogs/ toads are
killed per year
·
Raccoon
·
Red
Fox
·
Woodchuck
(groundhog)
·
Eastern
Gray Squirrel
·
Opossum
·
Eastern
Cottontail rabbit
·
Skunk
·
Eastern
Chipmunk
·
White-tailed
deer
·
Birds
Ø Songbirds are often hit
trying to cross roads
Ø Raptors are often hit as
they scavenge on other road killed animals
·
Reptiles
Ø Snakes are often killed as
they use the roads to bask (warm themselves) on
Ø Turtles are killed as they
try to cross roads
·
Amphibians
Ø Salamanders are often hit
when trying to cross roads
Ø Frogs/ toads are hit trying
to cross roads, especially immediately after a rain.
·
Water
sources near the road
·
Spilled
grain, roadside plants, basking animals, previously road killed animals
·
Trash
that people throw out their windows (ex: apple cores)
·
Changes
natural movement patterns and can divide up a population of animals into
smaller populations
·
Animals
will avoid areas near roads because of noise pollution from traffic
Examples:
·
Fragments
the forest (divides forest up into patches of forest)
Ø Some species need a lot of
continuous forest
Example:
·
Pollution
from the construction of roads
Ø
·
Build
passageways over and under roads
Ø Culverts
Ø Underpasses
Ø Overpasses
·
What
animals use passageways
Ø Mammals (both large and
small mammals)
Examples:
Ø Reptiles and Amphibians
Examples:
·
Don’t
Litter!!
Ø It attracts wildlife to
roads
Ø Even if its biodegradable,
don’t do it….it will attract wildlife
Ø Example: