A Trial of a Virtual Fence to Mitigate Roadkill on an Unsealed Rural Road in Tasmania, Australia

Abstract

A commercial roadkill Virtual Fence (VF) mitigation device (iPTE Traffic Solutions) was used in a field trial to test its effectiveness, for which previously published results have been inconsistent, along a 4.9 km segment of road on Bruny Island, Tasmania. A total of 585 days of monitoring roadkill by species was conducted, with six sections that were alternatively switched on or off according to the Crossover and Multiple Before–After–Control–Impact (MBACI) experimental designs that divided monitoring into “off–on” then “on–off” periods. Aggregate counts, for each period by section combination, from daily counts of Tasmanian pademelons (Thylogale billardierii) were modelled, with a total count of 222. The statistical analysis used the MBACI design to estimate the VF effect using a log-odds ratio parameter (LORP) while accounting for local spatio-temporal effects. Both versions of the analysis, either averaged over the three spatial replicates (paired sections) or two temporal replicates (blocks), showed no statistically significant effect of the VF, judged as an LORP estimate not sufficiently below zero. Corresponding percentage reduction estimates of 9% and 16% were derived from the LORP. The corresponding statistical power required to detect a nominal significant reduction of 50% in rate was 0.5 and 0.6, respectively. This study confirms the results from a similar previous field trial in southern Tasmania that this VF is likely to lead to, if anything, only a minor reduction in roadkill.

Keywords

• wildlife vehicle collisions
• roadkill
• one welfare
• virtual fence
• avoidance learning
• animal welfare