Higher mortality rates for large‐ and medium‐sized mammals on plantation roads compared to highways in Peninsular Malaysia

Jamhuri, Jamaluddin, Edinoor, Mohd Anuar, Kamarudin, Norizah , Lechner, Alex M., Ashton‐Butt, Adham and Azhar, Badrul (2020) Higher mortality rates for large‐ and medium‐sized mammals on plantation roads compared to highways in Peninsular Malaysia. Ecology and Evolution, 10 (21). pp. 12049-12058. ISSN 2045-7758

Full content URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6827

Documents
Higher mortality rates for large‐ and medium‐sized mammals on plantation roads compared to highways in Peninsular Malaysia
Published Open Access manuscript
[img]
[Download]
[img]
Preview
PDF
Jamhuri et al._2020_Higher mortality rates for large‐ and medium‐sized mammals.pdf - Whole Document
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

1MB
Item Type:Article
Item Status:Live Archive

Abstract

The fragmentation of forests by agricultural expansion, urbanization, and road networks is an ongoing global biodiversity crisis. In Southeast Asia and other tropical regions, wildlife populations are being isolated into pockets of natural habitat surrounded by road networks and monoculture plantations. Mortality from wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) is contributing to a decline in many species of conservation priority in human-modified landscapes. This study is the first in Malaysia to investigate factors affecting the occurrence of WVCs. We assessed roadkill data gathered by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks on small-, medium-, and large-sized mammals in Peninsular Malaysia. We examined the relationship between wildlife road accidents and several environmental factors. We found a total of 605 roadkill animals, involving 21 species, which included three species classified as Endangered. Road type (plantation road or highway), year, and distance of the road from continuous and fragmented forests were significant in determining mammal mortality. Unexpectedly, the majority of road mortality occurred on palm oil plantation roads compared to highways. Mortality of small- and medium-sized mammals was greater at locations further from continuous forest than those closer to fragmented forests. Segmentation of continuous forest by roads should be avoided wherever possible to reduce the threat of roads on crossing wildlife.

Keywords:forest, fragmentation, palm oil, roadkill, wildlife, malaysia
Subjects:C Biological Sciences > C180 Ecology
Divisions:College of Science > School of Geography
ID Code:43378
Deposited On:11 Jan 2021 17:02

Repository Staff Only: item control page