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Towards effective culvert design: monitoring seasonal use and behavior by Mediterranean mesocarnivores

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Abstract

Drainage culverts are known to be used by a diverse number of species. To date, most studies looking at culvert usage have been restricted to the dry season. This seasonal bias has limited our understanding of how different species respond to culverts and, consequently, our ability to find effective ways to promote the use of culverts as aids to species movement. The main goal of this study was to examine the role of highway culverts for mesocarnivores throughout the year. We addressed (1) the seasonality of culvert use, (2) the relative importance of culvert structure, highway features, and surrounding landscape on culvert use, (3) the influence of the water depth and cover on culvert use, and (4) the effect of culvert structure on individual behavior. Fifteen culverts were monitored along 2 highways in southern Portugal using video-surveillance cameras and marble dust for 10 consecutive days per season. We used generalized linear mixed models to determine which factors most affected the culvert use and behavior by mesocarnivores. Our results highlight the effect of seasonality and water on culvert use. Culvert use was positively related with species activity throughout the year. All species (except otters (Lutra lutra)) were less likely to use culverts that contained water more than 3 cm deep or covering more than 70 % of the culvert base. Based on our results, future surveys and culvert retrofit design should address (1) the importance of seasonality in the interpretation of results and (2) the complementarity of culvert-specific features (water, ledges, and naturalization).

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Brisa—Auto-Estradas de Portugal S.A. for providing the financial and logistical support for this project. Special thanks to Rui Raposo, Alexandre Pirra, Rui Casado, Joaquim Nobre, Pedro Pomar, and Gertrudes Ferro for their help in transporting and setting up the equipment. We would also like to thank all the volunteers that collaborated with us to complete the field work and view the videotapes. C. Grilo was supported by Ph.D. (SFRH/BD/10600/2002) and postdoctoral (SFRH/BPD/64205/2009) grants from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia. We also would like to thank John A. Bissonette for the valuable critical comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biologia Ambiental/Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, C2 5°, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal

    Ana Marta Serronha, Ana Rita Amaro Mateus, Margarida Santos-Reis & Clara Grilo

  2. CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal

    Ana Marta Serronha

  3. Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, 2780, Oeiras, Portugal

    Ana Rita Amaro Mateus

  4. Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, 2333 BE, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Ana Rita Amaro Mateus

  5. Earth Sciences Department, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EQ, UK

    Finn Eaton

  6. Departamento de Biología de la Conservación, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Calle Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Clara Grilo

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  1. Ana Marta Serronha
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  4. Margarida Santos-Reis
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Correspondence to Ana Marta Serronha.

Appendix

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Table 5

Table 5 Univariate analysis of the relationship of number of successful crossings and water depth and cover for each species
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Serronha, A.M., Mateus, A.R.A., Eaton, F. et al. Towards effective culvert design: monitoring seasonal use and behavior by Mediterranean mesocarnivores. Environ Monit Assess 185, 6235–6246 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-3020-3

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