Retrofit ecopassages effectively reduce freshwater turtle road mortality in the Lake Simcoe Watershed

Abstract

Abstract Although the negative impacts of roads on herpetiles are well documented, broad‐scale implementation of effective mitigation measures to address these impacts remains limited. Here, we evaluated whether a novel, cost‐effective, retrofit ecopassage design can reduce road mortality of herpetiles in the Lake Simcoe Watershed, using a before‐after‐control‐impact study. We also examined whether the ecopassages impacted the movement of turtles across the landscape using wildlife cameras. Our study indicated that the ecopassages significantly reduced turtle road mortality at the treatment sites but were not effective at mitigating road mortality of other herpetiles. Most turtle road‐kill at the ecopassages sites occurred at fence ends, highlighting the need for solutions to address fence‐end effects for herpetiles. There was no evidence that the ecopassages reduced turtles' ability to move between habitats as individuals were observed crossing through the ecopassages. Our results suggest that inexpensive solutions can effectively mitigate road mortality for turtles and taller fencing could improve the design for other species. Ecopassages, such as the ones tested in this study, should be widely implemented in road‐kill hotspots across all regions, especially in habitats of rare or at‐risk species, in order to protect turtles and other wildlife from the increasing threat of roads.

Keywords

• ecopassages
• habitat connectivity
• herpetiles
• mitigation
• road ecology
• road‐kill