Modeling the indirect effects of road networks on the foraging activities of bats
Authored by Patrick A Zollner, Victoria J Bennett, Dale W Sparks
Date Published: 2013
DOI: 10.1007/s10980-013-9874-0
Sponsors:
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS)
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
ODD
Flow charts
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Negative impacts of road networks on wildlife are of global concern.
While direct mortality of wildlife via roads has been well-documented, we know little about indirect effects of roads. Using a simulation model
parameterized from empirical data, we explored how roads in proximity to
maternity roosts influenced foraging activities of the endangered
Indiana bat. First, we conducted manipulated landscape simulations to
identify characteristics (such as traffic volume, foraging habitat
availability, etc.) that influenced landscape permeability. We used a
classification and regression tree procedure to assess which landscape
and road-related variables, alone or in combination, influenced bat
movement. We determined that roads did act as filters (> 10 vehicles/5
min) or barriers (> 200 vehicles/5 min) to movement. However, it is a
combination of the proportion of foraging habitat accessible without
crossing a road, and roost-to-road distance that dictated whether the
barrier and filter effects of roads hindered the bats' foraging
abilities. We then simulated movement patterns and foraging success of
Indiana bats at 32 existing maternity roosts to identify conditions
under which colonies currently persist. We established a foraging
success threshold, above which Indiana bats currently persist. The value
represents the time virtual bats spend in foraging habitat during the
simulation period. Finally, simulations from these landscapes around
known maternity roosts demonstrate that the road network and landscape
configuration are critical to foraging success. This modeling approach
and threshold value are beneficial to road developers and represent an
invaluable tool in the ecological design of transportation
infrastructures.
Tags
behavior
movement
Conservation
Traffic mortality
Wildlife
Highway
Habitat selection
Urban-rural interface
Myotis-sodalis
Indiana bat