Research
Making scientific research accessible
Here you’ll find easy-to-read summaries of scientifically rigorous, evidence-based and peer-reviewed publications from around the world to help you better plan, build and manage ecologically sustainable linear infrastructure.
Research summaries are listed chronologically according to when they were published here. To find information on a specific topic, please use the SEARCH function and search by keywords, including topic, species, location and/or author.
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Have you recently published a peer-reviewed scientific paper on transportation and ecology? Do you want practitioners all around the world to find and use your results? Then you need to contribute a Research Summary!
Priority regions and species to study and protect from road impacts in Latin America
We identified key areas and species that should be prioritized for conservation and research related to road impacts. In Latin America, vultures, armadillos, cuckoos and shrew opossums need protection, and Central America and northern South America are the regions with the greatest need for research.
More than 10,000 tons of wild mammals are killed on Brazilian roads yearly: Assessing the impacts and conservation implications of wildlife-vehicle collisions
Nearly 9 million medium- and large-sized mammals (>1kg) could be killed on Brazilian roads each year, representing an estimated wildlife biomass of over 10,000 tons. Mortality from roads is a major threat to wildlife conservation in Brazil, and further research and mitigation is urgently needed to avoid species extinction.
Roads are a severe threat to apex predators across the globe
Apex predators play critical roles in maintaining ecosystem health, but our meta-analysis on 36 species from around the world found all are affected by roads, and particularly in Asia. Proposed road projects in the Brazilian Amazon, Africa and Nepal will affect roughly 500 protected areas and threaten what little remains of apex predator’s core habitats, driving many species closer to extinction. Better planning to avoid such areas is urgently needed.
The first comprehensive mapping of Brazil’s remaining road- and railroad-less areas
By mapping road- and railroad-less areas in Brazil we identified priority areas for conservation and restoration. Our study also demonstrated that there is less native vegetation near roads and railroads compared to further away.
Potential movement corridors and areas of high predicted road mortality are in different locations for wild cats in Brazil
This study aimed to clarify the level of agreement between potential movement corridors and areas of high predicted road mortality in order to identify optimal locations for mitigation. We recommend considering both approaches in parallel.