Use of road infrastructure for movement by common terrestrial vertebrates

Abstract

AbstractWildlife‐vehicle collisions are increasing with road expansion. This problem could be minimised if the use of existing infrastructure to cross roads could be enhanced. We aimed to determine whether common terrestrial vertebrates used drainage culverts to cross roads, relative to rates of surface crossings. Camera traps were deployed on road verges at 30 locations in southeast Queensland, Australia for 2 weeks each over a 3‐month period. Of 1671 independent animal observations, 397 were direct observations of road crossings, either over‐road (365) or under‐road via culverts (32). Native species and small species were found more commonly at roadsides than culverts and where vegetation density was lower. Our data showed that animals used culverts only about 6% of the time. Management such as funnel fencing or vegetation manipulation could encourage wildlife to use culverts, but this would require a substantial investment given the propensity for animals to cross via the road surface.