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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In search of the ideal underpass for wild animals
Designing crossing structures for wildlife underneath roads is a challenge because species may respond differently to factors such as nearby habitat or crossing-structure dimensions. Here we show that large, open crossing structures along natural travel corridors accommodate the highest diversity of large and medium-sized mammals.
Good news: highway underpasses for wildlife actually work
Underpasses are a useful tool to enable wildlife to move across landscapes with roads. Not all ground-dwelling species of wildlife will find underpasses to their liking, but many do. Underpasses are also not a panacea for impacts on wildlife. And we shouldn’t use their effectiveness as a justification to run highways through pristine areas. They’re a tool to minimise impacts of road projects that have wide community support.
Functionality of underpasses as wildlife crossings on Route 34, Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
Route 34: Section Hacienda Barú Refuge is the first site in Costa Rica to have underpasses specifically for wildlife. After monitoring these structures, 21 vertebrate species have been recorded using them, preferring square, big underpasses with a natural substrate and vegetation cover.
Turn off the lights – Bats avoid lit underpasses
Lighting in wildlife underpasses significantly reduces their use by bats. Bats are more likely to cross the road rather than use the underpasses when they are lit, greatly increasing their risk of mortality.
Designing and testing under-road tunnels for Asian amphibians
Many populations of amphibians are declining rapidly across Asia and road kill is a significant cause. In this project, we designed and tested a range of culverts to identify amphibian-friendly options to mitigate roadkill and barrier effects of roads.
Where Jaguars Cross Other Will Follow
Jaguars together with other neotropical species only used purpose-built wildlife underpasses under a highway in Mexico, even when ‘large enough’ drainage structures were available. Drainage structures may work as crossings for some species but can’t substitute proper wildlife underpasses.