Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E9, Canada.
Parks Canada Agency, Banff National Park, Banff, AB, T1L 1K2, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2020 Nov 24;10(1):20476. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-77321-6.
Railways are a major source of direct mortality for many populations of large mammals, but they have been less studied or mitigated than roads. We evaluated temporal and spatial factors affecting mortality risk using 646 railway mortality incidents for 11 mammal species collected over 24 years throughout Banff and Yoho National Parks, Canada. We divided species into three guilds (bears, other carnivores, and ungulates), compared site attributes of topography, land cover, and train operation between mortality and paired random locations at four spatial scales, and described temporal patterns or mortality. Mortality risk increased across multiple guilds and spatial scales with maximum train speed and higher track curvature, both suggesting problems with train detection, and in areas with high proximity to and amount of water, both suggesting limitations to animal movement. Mortality risk was also correlated, but more varied among guilds and spatial scales, with shrub cover, topographic complexity, and proximity to sidings and roads. Seasonally, mortality rates were highest in winter for ungulates and other carnivores, and in late spring for bears, respectively. Our results suggest that effective mitigation could address train speed or detectability by wildlife, especially at sites with high track curvature that are near water or attractive habitat.
铁路是许多大型哺乳动物直接死亡的主要来源，但与道路相比，铁路受到的研究或缓解程度较低。我们评估了影响死亡率风险的时间和空间因素，这些因素是在加拿大班夫和优鹤国家公园 24 年期间收集的 11 种哺乳动物物种的 646 个铁路死亡事件中得出的。我们将物种分为三个群体（熊、其他食肉动物和有蹄类动物），比较了死亡率和配对随机地点的地形、土地覆盖和火车运行的站点属性在四个空间尺度上的差异，并描述了死亡率的时间模式。死亡率风险随着最大列车速度和更高的轨道曲率而在多个群体和空间尺度上增加，这都表明了列车检测存在问题，而在靠近水源和水量大的地区，这都表明动物的运动受到限制。死亡率风险还与灌木覆盖、地形复杂性以及与侧线和道路的接近程度相关，但在群体和空间尺度上的相关性更为复杂。季节性方面，有蹄类动物和其他食肉动物的死亡率在冬季最高，而熊的死亡率在春末最高。我们的研究结果表明，有效的缓解措施可以解决野生动物对列车速度或可探测性的问题，特别是在轨道曲率较高、靠近水源或有吸引力的栖息地的地方。
