Stopped Dead in Their Tracks: The Impact of Railways on Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Movement and Behavior
| Autor: | M. Rebecca Bolt, Scott A. Martin, Christopher L. Parkinson, Katelyn Lanctot, Richard A. Seigel, Rhett M. Rautsaw, Bridget A. Vincent |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Habitat fragmentation biology Tortoise 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology Biodiversity Aquatic Science biology.organism_classification 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Fishery Geography Polyphemus Urbanization Threatened species Animal Science and Zoology Movement (clockwork) Transportation infrastructure Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
| Zdroj: | Copeia. 106:135-143 |
| ISSN: | 1938-5110 0045-8511 |
| DOI: | 10.1643/ce-17-635 |
| Popis: | Habitat fragmentation is one of the leading causes of biodiversity decline and most commonly results from urbanization and construction of transportation infrastructure. Roads are known to negatively impact species, but railways can often cause similar effects. Certain taxa, such as turtles and tortoises, are more vulnerable to railways than others due to limitations in mobility. We studied the impact of rails on the movement and behavior of Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus), a threatened, highly terrestrial species likely in frequent contact with railways. First, we used radio-telemetry to determine the frequency of railway crossings and compared this to correlated random walk (CRW) simulations to assess if tortoises were crossing the rails less frequently than is expected by unconstrained movement. Second, we placed tortoises into the railway and measured behavior for one hour to assess crossing ability. Lastly, we tested whether trenches dug underneath the rails could allow safe passage for tortoi... |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|