Abstract
Many Eastern European countries still host landscapes with high value due to their habitat quality and size. Some of these countries are new member states of the European Union, and EU-accession is accompanied by huge investments in the development of traffic infrastructure. Environmental assessments mandatory for road constructions in the EU do not necessarily require explicit measures for the mitigation of fragmentation, and technical constructions associated with road building are frequently assumed to provide sufficient possibilities for wildlife crossings. We evaluated those technical structures at two motorway sections separating relevant subpopulations of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Bulgaria. Our assessment revealed that the permeability of the two motorways has been considerably overestimated. A total of just 13 out of the 77 potential crossing possibilities of the two roads together meet the requirements we defined for suitable wildlife crossings. We found that the potential for improvement of the crossing functionality of already existing technical facilities along the motorways is very limited. Given the dependence on a small number of habitat paths connecting suitable crossings with habitat on both sides of the road, connectivity between subpopulations is vulnerable to fragmentation impacts.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alpert P, Keller A, Airame S, Lauenroth WK, Pouyat RV, Mooney HA (2003) The ecology-policy interface. Front Ecol Environ 1:45–50
Bennet G, Wit P (2001) The development and application of ecological networks: a review of proposals, plans and programmes. IUCN and AIDEnvironment, Amsterdam
Cantú C, Wright RG, Scot JM, Strand E (2004) Assessment of current and proposed nature reserves of Mexico based on their capacity to protect geophysical features and biodiversity. Biol Conserv 115(3):411–417
Carroll C, Noss RF, Paquet PC (2002) Rocky mountain carnivore project. Final Report. World Wildlife Fund Canada, Toronto
Carroll C, Noss RF, Paquet PC, Schumaker NH (2003) Use of population viability analysis and reserve selection algorithms in regional conservation plans. Ecol Appl 13:1773–1789
Chruszcz B, Clevenger AP, Gunson K, Gibeau M (2003) Relationships among grizzly bears, highways, and habitat in the Banff–Bow Valley, Alberta, Canada. Can J Zool 81:1378–1391
Clevenger AP, Waltho N (2000) Factors influencing the effectiveness of wildlife underpasses in Banff national park, Alberta, Canada. Conserv Biol 14(1):47–56
Clevenger AP, Waltho N (2005) Performance indices to identify attributes of highway crossing structures facilitating movement of large mammals. Biol Conserv 121(3):453–464
Clevenger AP, Chruszcz B, Gunson K (2001) Highway mitigation fencing reduces wildlife–vehicle collisions. Wildl Soc Bull 29:646–653
Corsi F, DuprŠ E, Boitani L (1999) A large-scale model of wolf distribution in Italy for conservation planning. Conserv Biol 13(1):150–159
Corsi F, de Leeuw J, Skidmore A (2000) Modeling species distribution with GIS. In: Boitani L, Fuller TK (eds) Research techniques in animal ecology. Columbia University Press, New York, pp 389–434
Crooks KR (2002) Relative sensitivities of mammalian carnivores to habitat fragmentation. Conserv Biol 16(2):488–502
De Maesschalck R, Jouan-Rimbaud D, Massart DL (2000) The mahalanobis distance, chemometrics and intelligent laboratory systems, vol 50. Elsevier, Amsterdam
De Vries H, Damarad T (2002) Executive Summary. In: Trocm M et al (eds) COST 341—habitat fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure: the European view. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, pp 11–14
Epps CW, Palsbøll PJ, Wehausen JD, Roderick GK, Ramey RR, McCullough DR (2005) Highways block gene flow and cause a rapid decline in genetic diversity of desert bighorn sheep. Ecol Lett 8(10):1029–1038. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00804.x
Fahrig L (2001) How much habitat is enough? Biol Conserv 100(1):65–74
Fahrig L (2002) Effect of habitat fragmentation on the extinction threshold: a synthesis. Ecol Appl 12:346–353
Forman RT (2004) Road ecology’s promise: What’s around the bend? Environment 46(4):9–21
Forman RTT, Alexander LE (1998) Roads and their major ecological effects. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 29:207–231
Forman RTT, Sperling D, Bissonette J et al (2003) Road ecology: science and solutions. Island Press, Washington, DC
Hlaváč V, Anděl P (2002) On the permeability of roads for wildlife—a handbook. Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape protection of the Czech Republic, Everna
Huber D, Kusak J, Frkovic A (1998) Traffic kills of brown bears in Gorski kotar, Croatia. Ursus 10:167–171
Huber D, Tvrtkovic N, Dusek A, Stahan Z, Pavlinic I, Obadic VK, Rajcic JB (2002) Road permeability for anmimals: proposal of guidelines for constructors. University of Zagreb, Zagreb
Iuell B (2003) Wildlife and traffic: a European handbook for identifying conflicts and designing solutions. KNNV Publishers, Utrecht
Jaeger JAG (2000) Landscape devision, splitting index, and effective mesh size: new measures of landscape fragmentation. Landsc Ecol 15(2):115–130
Jaeger J, Madrinan LF, Soukup T, Schwick C (2011) Landscape fragmentation in Europe. Joint EEA-FOEN report, Copenhagen
Jenness J (2003) Mahalanobis distance (mahalanobis.avx) extension for ArcView 3.x. http://www.jennessent.com/arcview/mahalonobis.htm. Accessed 27 Oct 2011
Jenness J, Majka D, Beier P (2008) Corridor designer evaluation tools. http://www.corridordesign.org. Accessed 30 Oct 2011
Jones ME (2000) Road upgrade, road mortality and remedial measures: impacts on a population of eastern quolls and Tasmanian devils. Wildl Res 27:289–296
Kaczensky P, Knauer F, Krze B, Jonozovic M, Adamic M, Gossow H (2003) The impact of high speed, high volume traffic axes on brown bears in Slovenia. Biol Conserv 111(2):191–204. doi:10.1016/s0006-3207(02)00273-2
Kramer-Schadt S, Revilla E, Wiegand T, Breitenmoser U (2004) Fragmented landscapes, road mortality and patch connectivity: modelling influences on the dispersal of Eurasian lynx. J Appl Ecol 41:711–723
Kramer-Schadt S, Revilla E, Wiegand T (2005) Lynx reintroductions in fragmented landscapes of Germany: Projects with future or misunderstood wildlife conservation? Biol Conserv 125(2):169–182
Kusak J, Huber D, Frkovic A (2000) The effects of traffic on large carnivore populations. Biosph Conserv 3:35–39
Kusak J, Huber D, Gomercic T, Schwaderer G, Guzvica G (2009) The permeability of highway in Gorski kotar (Croatia) for large mammals. Eur Wildl Res 55:7–21
Langevelde FV, Jaarsma CF (2009) Modeling the effect of traffic calming on local animal population persistence. Ecol Soc 14:39
Linnell JDC, Swenson JE, Andersen R (2000) Conservation of biodiversity in Scandinavian boreal forests: large carnivores as flagships, umbrellas, indicators, or keystones. Biodivers Conserv 9:857–868
Mahalanobis PC (1936) On the generalized distance in statistics. Proc Natl Inst Sci 12:49–55
Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Bulgaria (2006) Operational programme on transport 2007–2013. Coordination of programmes and projects directorate—managing authority of the operational programme on transport 2007–2013. Sofia, pp 1–188
O’Brien E (2006) Habitat fragmentation due to transport infrastructure: practical considerations. In: Davenport J, Davenport JL (eds) The ecology of transportation: managing mobility for the environment environmental pollution. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 191–204
Rodrigues ASL, Brooks TM (2007) Shortcuts for biodiversity conservation planning: the effectiveness of surrogates. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 38:713–737
Rondinini C, Boitani L (2006) Differences in the umbrella effects of African amphibians and mammals based on two estimators of the area of occupancy. Conserv Biol 20(1):170–179
Ryall KL, Fahrig L (2006) Response of predators to loss and fragmentation of prey habitat: a review of theory. Ecology 87(5):1086–1093
Salvatori V (2004) Mapping conservation areas for carnivores in the Carpathian Mountains. University of Southampton, Southampton
Schumaker NH, Ernst T, White D, Baker J, Haggerty P (2004) Projecting wildlife responses to alternative future landscapes in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Ecol Appl 14:381–400
Seiler A (2005) Predicting locations of moose-vehicle collisions in Sweden. J Appl Ecol 42:371–382
Seiler A, Helldin JO (2006) Mortality in wildlife due to transportation. In: Davenport J, Davenport JL (eds) The ecology of transportation: managing mobility for the environment, environmental pollution. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 165–190
Sweanor LL, Logan KA, Hornocker MG (2000) Cougar dispersal patterns—metapopulation dynamics and conservation. Conserv Biol 14:798–808
Swenson JE, Sandergren F, Bjarvall A, Soderberg A, Wabakken P, Franzen R (1994) Size, trend distribution and conservation of the brown bear Ursus arctos population in Sweden. Biol Conserv 70:9–17
Swenson J, Gerstl N, Dahle B, Zedrosser A (2000) Action plan for conservation of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Europe. Nature and environment 114, Council of Europe Publishing, Strasbourg
Tischendorf L, Fahrig L (2000) On the usage and measurement of landscape connectivity. Oikos 90:7–19
Trombulak SC, Frissell CA (2000) Review of ecological effects of roads on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Conserv Biol 14(1):18–30
Weaver JL, Paquet PC, Ruggiero LF (1996) Resilience and conservation of large carnivores in the Rocky Mountains. Conserv Biol 10(4):964–976
Wesolowski T (2005) Virtual conservation: how the European Union is turning a blind eye to its vanishing primeval forests. Conserv Biol 19(5):1349–1358
Wiegand T, Knauer F, Kaczenski P, Naves J (2004) Expansion of brown bears (Ursus arctos) into the eastern Alps: a spatially explicit population model. Biodivers Conserv 13:79–114
Wiegand T, Revilla E, Moloney KA (2005) Effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on population dynamics. Conserv Biol 19:108–121
With KA, King AW (2001) Analysis of landscape sources and sinks: the effect of spatial pattern on avian demography. Biol Conserv 100:75–88
Zimmermann F (2004) Conservation of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in a fragmented landscape—habitat models, dispersal and potential distribution. PhD Thesis, Universite de Lausanne
Zlatanova D (2010) Modelling the habitat suitability for the bear (Ursus arctos), the wolf (Canis lupus) and the lynx (Lynx lynx) in Bulgaria. PhD Thesis, Sofia University, Sofia
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the German Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU) and by the Frankfurt Zoological Society. We thank the Euronature Foundation for the management and coordination of the project. Emily Kilham improved the language.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kaphegyi, T.A.M., Dees, M., Zlatanova, D. et al. Rapid assessment of linear transport infrastructure in relation to the impact on landscape continuity for large ranging mammals. Biodivers Conserv 22, 153–168 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0409-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0409-9