<p>Road mortality plays an important part in reducing landscape connectivity for anurans, particularly during mass movement dispersal events. Most anuran connectivity modelling has focused on linear energy expenditure, but this technique has not appropriately considered the multiplicative reductions in anuran survival as they cross successive road segments. We tested an alternative to the traditional resistance (TR) model which uses probabilities of road crossing survival, applied different maximum movement extents and survival thresholds, and compared model performances using generalized additive models. The top performing road crossing survival (RCS) models related accessible marsh habitat within 5000 m at survival thresholds of 5–25% to the spring peeper and gray treefrog, but performed no better than the TR models at the same distance, indicating that the RCS tool has potential as a tool for modelling anuran habitat connectivity for certain species. We discuss various avenues for road crossing survival tool improvement, including collecting detailed regional information on road traffic, and considering the specific wetland needs of the species of interest. We believe that RCS tools can improve our ability to assess and communicate the connectivity between suitable habitats for species affected by road-induced mortality.</p>

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A Tool for Modelling Anuran Landscape Connectivity Through Road Crossing Survival

  • Dorian Pomezanski,
  • Mark Zietara

摘要

Road mortality plays an important part in reducing landscape connectivity for anurans, particularly during mass movement dispersal events. Most anuran connectivity modelling has focused on linear energy expenditure, but this technique has not appropriately considered the multiplicative reductions in anuran survival as they cross successive road segments. We tested an alternative to the traditional resistance (TR) model which uses probabilities of road crossing survival, applied different maximum movement extents and survival thresholds, and compared model performances using generalized additive models. The top performing road crossing survival (RCS) models related accessible marsh habitat within 5000 m at survival thresholds of 5–25% to the spring peeper and gray treefrog, but performed no better than the TR models at the same distance, indicating that the RCS tool has potential as a tool for modelling anuran habitat connectivity for certain species. We discuss various avenues for road crossing survival tool improvement, including collecting detailed regional information on road traffic, and considering the specific wetland needs of the species of interest. We believe that RCS tools can improve our ability to assess and communicate the connectivity between suitable habitats for species affected by road-induced mortality.