Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wyoming, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 6, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-157).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wyoming, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 11, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-164).

Thesis (doctoral)--Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2003. / Thesis documentation sheets with English and Swedish abstracts inserted. Includes bibliographical references. Also partially issued electronically via World Wide Web; online version lacks appendix.

Thesis (M.S.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2007. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sharon Eversman. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-89).

Thesis (M. S.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on June 19, 2009) Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 15, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 11, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-201).

Despite evidence suggesting that road traffic is a major threat to biodiversity loss, very little is known about its actual impact on wildlife populations in South Africa. Globally, road density and traffic volumes are increasing, and although huge budgets are devoted to the construction and upgrading of roads, there is little or no allocation to mitigation measures for protecting fauna in most countries, particularly Africa. Further, no global standardised protocol exists for the rapid assessment of roadkill or the most economical and efficient approach for assessing roadkill rates. Using vehicle field trials, the reliability of detecting artificially deployed roadkill was assessed. Roadkill detection rates decreased significantly at speeds >50 km/h and were also significantly influenced by light conditions (i.e. detection success was greater when the sun was high) and the position of the roadkill on the road (i.e. smaller roadkill on verges were often missed). These results suggest that roadkill sampling was most effective between 1.5 hours after dawn and 1.5 hours before dusk and that driving at slower speeds (<50 km.h⁻ₑ) was required to detect roadkill. This protocol was implemented across three ecological seasons on a 100 km paved road and a 20 km unpaved road in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Driven daily over a 120-day period (three periods consisting each of 40 days), a total of 1,027 roadkill were recorded. These comprised 162 species from all terrestrial vertebrate groups with birds being the most commonly encountered roadkill (50% of all incidents). The high numbers of vertebrates identified as roadkill suggests that road traffic could have potentially unsustainable impacts on wildlife populations and hence the biodiversity of the area. Seventeen variables were identified as possible determinants of roadkill occurrence with season, rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature, habitat type, grass height, grass density, fence type and vehicle type significantly influencing roadkill numbers. Significantly more roadkill were detected on the paved road (9.91/100km) than on the unpaved road (1.8/100km) probably because of greater traffic volumes and the increased speed that vehicles travelled on the paved road. Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall in the preceding 24 hours also increased road mortality numbers as animals tended to become more active during these times. Interestingly, more roadkill was detected in open roadside habitats compared to dense roadside habitats on both the paved and unpaved roads and when grass on the roadside verge was of intermediate height. Open habitat possibly may provide a natural corridor for wildlife which ultimately end up on the road. Roadkill numbers increased when certain other physical barriers, such as cattle fences, were present, probably because these barriers were more penetrable than electric fencing. A series of mitigation measures are proposed to reduce the impacts of roads on wildlife in South Africa. These mitigation measures highlight the need to address the balance between the development of a country’s transport infrastructure and the conservation of its fauna. It is important that research on the impacts of roads becomes standardised to enable robust statistical comparisons which will provide a greater understanding of the potential threats to vertebrate biodiversity

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Melbourne, 2005. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 3, 2006). Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-139).

While roads can present weak to complete barriers to wildlife, depending on the animal and traffic volume, mitigations such as under-crossings and green bridges on highways at least partially increase the permeability of the landscape to some of these species. The few studies evaluating the effectiveness of these structures for at least three years typically focused on a single species. Here, we monitored the crossing structure under Boeckman Road, in Wilsonville Oregon, for wildlife activity across summer seasons for ten years, since construction of the road and subsequent opening to traffic. This long-term multi-species dataset, which includes monitoring when the road was closed to traffic has provided a unique opportunity. Wildlife activity was collected using sand track pads monitored during summer seasons from 2009 to 2018. Wildlife activity showed a significant community level response from year to year and species-specific responses to year, vegetation change, disturbance, detection area, and previous experimental additions of artificial light. Roads create barriers to animal movement through collisions and habitat fragmentation. Investigators have attempted to use traffic volume, the number of vehicles passing a point on a road segment, to predict effects to wildlife populations approximately linearly and along taxonomic lines; however, taxonomic groupings cannot provide sound predictions because closely related species often respond differently. We assess the role of wildlife behavioral responses to traffic volume as a tool to predict barrier effects from vehicle-caused mortality and avoidance, to provide an early warning system that recognizes traffic volume as a trigger for mitigation, and to better interpret roadkill data. We propose four categories of behavioral response based on the perceived danger to traffic: Nonresponders, Pausers, Speeders, and Avoiders. By considering a species' risk-avoidance response to traffic, managers can make more appropriate and timely decisions to mitigate effects before populations decline or become locally extinct. Barriers to animal movement can isolate populations, impacting their genetic diversity, susceptibility to disease, and access to resources. Barriers to movement may be caused by artificial light, but few studies have experimentally investigated the effects of artificial light on movement for a suite of terrestrial vertebrates. Therefore, we studied the effect of ecological light pollution on animal usage of a bridge under-road passage structure. On a weekly basis, sections of the structure were subjected to different light treatments including no light added, followed by a Reference period when lights were off in all the structure sections. Findings suggest that artificial light may be reducing habitat connectivity for some species though not providing a strong barrier for others. Through the work conducted herein we provide contributions to the understanding of how elements of the built environment impact wildlife communities ability to move across the landscape. Additionally, we provide new tools to support resource managers in barrier mitigation and connectivity planning. Habitat fragmentation effects are a complex set of issues that require resources and collaboration to reach meaningful solutions. The work presented here can also support decision-making, communication, and collaborative efforts that will ultimately result in on-the-ground impacts to reduce fragmentation effects and mitigate existing barriers effectively to promote the long-term viability of wildlife and the systems they depend on.