Human and animal movements combine with snow to increase moose-vehicle collisions in winter

Bibliographic Data

ID15548580
AuthorsCalum X Cunningham (0000-0003-1640-2533, University of Washington, corresponding author), Glen E Liston (0000-0001-5743-035X, Colorado State University), Adele K Reinking (0000-0002-9082-4315, Colorado State University), Natalie T Boelman (0000-0003-3716-2372, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory), Todd Brinkman (0000-0001-5375-4840, University of Alaska Fairbanks), Kyle Joly (0000-0001-8420-7452, National Park Service), Mark Hebblewhite (0000-0001-5382-1361, University of Montana), Stan Boutin (0000-0001-6317-038X, University of Alberta), Sophie M Czetwertynski (Yukon Department of Environment), Sophie Czetwertynski, Leonard Sielecki (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario), Leonard E Sielecki, Laura R Prugh (0000-0001-9045-3107, University of Washington)
Year2022
Volume17
Issue12
Pages125007-125007
Publication date2022-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironmental Research Letters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326
PublisherIOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1088/1748-9326/aca8bf
OpenAlexW4311540090
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited62

Wildlife-vehicle collisions imperil humans, wildlife, and property. Collisions with moose (Alces alces ) are especially consequential and there are indications they may increase during severe winters. We tested hypotheses regarding the influence of moose movements and vehicular traffic patterns on collision risk. We first modeled daily snow depth and accumulation across 5.6 million km 2 of the North American Arctic-Boreal region. Next, we analyzed the movements and road use of 113 GPS-collared moose in response to snow depth. Finally, we examined the influence of these snow properties on vehicular traffic and 7680 moose-vehicle collisions. As winter progressed and the snowpack deepened in each study area, GPS-collared moose migrated to lower elevations, leading them into areas with shallower snow but higher road densities. This elevational migration corresponded with a higher probability of road-use by moose (by up to ten-fold) in winter than in summer. Corresponding to these patterns, moose-vehicle collisions were 2.4–5.7 times more frequent from December through February (compared to early summer). Collision risk was highest when and where snow depth was less than 120 cm, indicating that migration into areas with shallower snow increased collision risk in those areas. Most (82%) moose-vehicle collisions occurred after dark. This pattern was strongest during winter, when nighttime traffic volumes were eight times higher than summer due to longer nights. Overall, our findings suggest that concurrent seasonal changes in human and wildlife behavior increase the frequency of moose-vehicle collisions during winter. Snow depth influences collisions primarily through its impacts on moose movement, while strong seasonal changes in daylight hours cause an increase in nighttime traffic that further contributes to risk. This information may help predict times and places where risk of moose-vehicle collisions are highest and to develop seasonally dynamic mitigation strategies

Arctic · Biology · Boreal · Collision · Geography · Habitat · Meteorology · Physical geography · Snow · Snowpack · Wildlife · Environmental Science · Marine animal studies overview · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation · Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation · Ecology

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