The Influence of Road, Road Verge and Landscape Characteristics on the Occurrence of Raptor-Vehicle Collisions

Search for this publication on Google Scholar
Bates, J. (2023). The Influence of Road, Road Verge and Landscape Characteristics on the Occurrence of Raptor-Vehicle Collisions. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
Download PDF

Analytics

5 views ◎
2 downloads ⇓


Abstract

The increasing prevalence of roads has had a corresponding impact on the risk of road mortality for wildlife, particularly for avian species such as birds of prey that commonly make use of foraging opportunities along roadside verges. Birds of prey, or raptors, are considered apex predators, which suggests that the impact of road mortality has far-reaching ecological consequences. The purpose of my research was to analyze the effect of traffic, habitat, and road verge variables on collision risk for raptors. I accomplished this in three ways: first, I assessed the impact of road and habitat variables on vehicle collision risk for Barred Owls (Strix varia) in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. I then applied this same analysis to both nocturnal and diurnal raptors in the Orlando, Florida region. Finally, I assessed the relative impact of species and individual traits on collision risk at locations with varying characteristics. Although I did not observe a difference in collision risk for raptors based on time of activity, I found that traffic volume and the suitability of surrounding habitat were significant predictors of collision risk in both Florida and North Carolina. In many cases, I found that increased prey cover in the form of brush, shrubs and tall grass along road verges served to predict collision risk in both locations. Complex vegetation provides habitat for small vertebrates, which in turn attracts raptors to roadsides, thus increasing the risk of being struck by a passing vehicle. My analysis of species traits showed that body size and reproductive output were the most important predictors of collision risk. Larger species and those with smaller clutch sizes were most likely to be hit, regardless of road conditions or habitat characteristics.

Details
Author

Bates, Jennifer

Title

The Influence of Road, Road Verge and Landscape Characteristics on the Occurrence of Raptor-Vehicle Collisions

Physical Description

1 online resource (134 pages) : PDF

Date

2023

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of roads has had a corresponding impact on the risk of road mortality for wildlife, particularly for avian species such as birds of prey that commonly make use of foraging opportunities along roadside verges. Birds of prey, or raptors, are considered apex predators, which suggests that the impact of road mortality has far-reaching ecological consequences. The purpose of my research was to analyze the effect of traffic, habitat, and road verge variables on collision risk for raptors. I accomplished this in three ways: first, I assessed the impact of road and habitat variables on vehicle collision risk for Barred Owls (Strix varia) in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. I then applied this same analysis to both nocturnal and diurnal raptors in the Orlando, Florida region. Finally, I assessed the relative impact of species and individual traits on collision risk at locations with varying characteristics. Although I did not observe a difference in collision risk for raptors based on time of activity, I found that traffic volume and the suitability of surrounding habitat were significant predictors of collision risk in both Florida and North Carolina. In many cases, I found that increased prey cover in the form of brush, shrubs and tall grass along road verges served to predict collision risk in both locations. Complex vegetation provides habitat for small vertebrates, which in turn attracts raptors to roadsides, thus increasing the risk of being struck by a passing vehicle. My analysis of species traits showed that body size and reproductive output were the most important predictors of collision risk. Larger species and those with smaller clutch sizes were most likely to be hit, regardless of road conditions or habitat characteristics.

Genre

doctoral dissertations

Subjects--Topics

Geography
Ecology
Wildlife conservation

Degree

Ph.D.

Keywords

Eagle
Hawk
Owl
Road Mortality
Urbanization

Subject Area

Geography & Urban Regional Analysis

Advisor(s)

Gagné, Sara

Committee Members

Clinton, Sandra
Tang, Wenwu
Haynes, Christine

Degree Note

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2023.

Rights Statement

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). For additional information, see http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/.

Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Bates_uncc_0694D_13422

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:3240