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Moore, Lauren Joanne, 2024. Road impacts on the demography and movement of animal populations; optimising study designs and understanding the long-term consequences. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.
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Abstract
Given the extent of the global road network, roads are considered one of the most pressing contemporary conservation issues. However, explicit understanding about how roads affect population dynamics, and so how to mitigate these effects, is limited. This thesis aimed to identify the optimal study designs for assessing population-level impacts of roads as well as to understand both animal survival and movements near roads. The west European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), a priority species for conservation in the UK, is used as a case study.
Between May 2020 and November 2021, vertebrate road mortality was recorded using repeat, standardised road surveys in Nottinghamshire, UK, and analysed using novel equations, Generalised Linear Models (GLM), and Generalised Additive Models (GAM). Along the road survey route, four sites were repeatedly studied using spotlight surveys to quantify hedgehog population dynamics. Simultaneously, GPS-tracking of 127 hedgehogs across the Nottinghamshire sites and seven additional UK-wide sites took place. Road avoidance behaviour was analysed using GLMs and the ‘true’ risk of road mortality was analysed using a Resource Selection Function.
Average carcass persistence rates ranged between 0.69 and 6.00 days (average 3.10 days ±4.61 SD) and were driven by body mass and road type. Road mortality patterns tracked life history events and were predicted by a combination of road design, urbanity, and traffic volume. With greater densities, survival probabilities and reproductive rates, more urbanised local hedgehog populations appeared to compensate for road mortality. Eighty-four percent (n = 107) of hedgehogs exhibited significant road avoidance behaviour and road crossings showed variation by sex, road type, time of night, and season. Traffic volume and vehicle speed, especially on the outskirts of residential areas, were key components of the ‘true’ risk of road mortality, whilst intermediate roads produced the greatest annual road mortality probability.
This thesis provides researchers with robust methodology for the accurate interpretation of road mortality rates and their population-level impacts. In addition, this is the first study to establish local population differences in road mortality impacts in hedgehogs and that road mitigation should consider the potential presence of meta-population dynamics. The GPS data suggest that hedgehogs may be perceiving the risks and rewards of traversing road networks and adjusting their behaviour accordingly. Combining insight from the population and movement ecology, as adopted in this thesis, can ease the constraints surrounding decision-making for conservation planning and road mitigation.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Moore, L.J. |
| Contributors: | Name Role NTU ID ORCID |
| Date: | July 2024 |
| Rights: | The copyright in this work is held by the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the author. |
| Divisions: | Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences |
| Record created by: | Jonathan Gallacher |
| Date Added: | 14 Aug 2024 15:27 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Aug 2024 15:27 |
| URI: | https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/52008 |
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