Implementing Multiple Sources of Evidence to Describe Wildlife-Road Interactions in the Chignecto Isthmus Region of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada

Abstract

Roads impact wildlife through direct vehicle-caused mortality as well as through indirect effects of habitat degradation and fragmentation. These effects are of particular concern in areas important to wildlife movements, such as locations of regional flows or priority linkages, and have the potential to impact the viability and persistence of wildlife populations. The Chignecto Isthmus region of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick has been identified as one such area and is used in this thesis as a case study to model the implementation of a regional-scale road ecology study that uses multiple lines of evidence for wildlife-road interactions. Systematic roadkill surveys and collected wildlife-vehicle collision reports were used to identify road mortality hotspots; trail camera images were employed to qualitatively describe which species were interacting with the road yet not displaying high roadkill rates. These data will help verify wildlife movement pathways and provide evidence-based recommendations for road-effect mitigation strategies.