Villamagna Amy, Laflamme Eric, Kim Hyun Joong, Martin Rebecca
Plymouth State University (Environmental Science & Policy, and Sustainability Studies), Plymouth, NH, USA.
Plymouth State University (Mathematics), Plymouth, NH, USA.
Environ Manage. 2025 Aug;75(8):2103-2115. doi: 10.1007/s00267-025-02214-1. Epub 2025 Jun 17.
Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) impose serious and increasing environmental, economic, and societal costs worldwide. Examining temporal and spatial patterns in WVCs is a critical piece of the wildlife connectivity puzzle that can help reduce the frequency and severity of collisions for humans and wildlife. We analyzed WVC records in New Hampshire (USA) between 2002 and 2019 to visualize spatiotemporal patterns, evaluate statistical predictors of WVCs, and to identify priority areas for mitigation efforts. More than 27,000 WVCs were reported between 2002 and 2019 throughout the entire state, averaging approximately 1500 WVCs per year. WVCs occurred on roads of all functional classes; notably, 33% occurred on "local" roads and at least 62% on roads with posted speeds greater than 40 mph. We calculated road-level metrics, including total WVCs and WVC density (i.e., WVCs per mile) over predefined, multiyear period and compared these metrics over space and time. Positive relationships were observed between WVCs and local road density, which corresponds to population centers within the state; however, only temporal factors were of practical significance in explaining WVC frequency. To inform statewide mitigation measures, we ranked roads based on WVCs per mile and total WVCs and identified the top 5% road for each during the most recent time periods.
野生动物与车辆碰撞（WVCs）在全球范围内造成了严重且不断增加的环境、经济和社会成本。研究WVCs的时空模式是野生动物连通性难题的关键部分，有助于降低人类和野生动物碰撞的频率及严重程度。我们分析了美国新罕布什尔州2002年至2019年期间的WVC记录，以可视化时空模式、评估WVCs的统计预测因素，并确定缓解措施的重点区域。2002年至2019年期间，全州共报告了27000多起WVCs，平均每年约1500起。WVCs发生在所有功能类别的道路上；值得注意的是，33%发生在“地方”道路上，至少62%发生在限速超过40英里/小时的道路上。我们计算了道路层面的指标，包括在预定义的多年期内的WVCs总数和WVC密度（即每英里的WVCs数量），并在空间和时间上比较了这些指标。观察到WVCs与地方道路密度之间存在正相关关系，这与该州的人口中心相对应；然而，在解释WVC频率方面，只有时间因素具有实际意义。为了为全州范围的缓解措施提供参考，我们根据每英里的WVCs数量和WVCs总数对道路进行排名，并确定了最近时间段内每个指标排名前5%的道路。
