Use signs or access restrictions to reduce disturbance to mammals

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    80%
  • Certainty
    40%
  • Harms
    0%

Study locations

Key messages

  • One study evaluated the effects of using signs or access restrictions to reduce disturbance to mammals. This study was in the USA.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

POPULATION RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

BEHAVIOUR (1 STUDY)

  • Use (1 study): A replicated, paired sites, site comparison study in the USA found that removing or closing roads increased use of those areas by black bears.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

  1. A replicated, paired sites, site comparison study in 2006–2009 of a forest in Idaho, USA (Switalski & Nelson 2011) found that removing or closing roads increased use of those areas by black bears Ursus americanus. More bears were detected on former roads that had been removed (4.6 detections/100 camera-trap days) than on paired open roads (0.3). Similarly, there were more on closed than on paired open roads when roads were closed by a barrier (closed: 1.5; open: 0.6 detections/100 camera-trap days) or by a gate (closed: 0.5; open: 0 detections/100 camera-trap days). Eighteen closed roads were paired with open roads. Closed roads included seven removed by reprofiling in the previous 10 years, five closed by barriers and six that were gated. Closed roads were sampled by camera-trapping 1.6 km along from their intersection with the paired open road. Open roads were sampled <100 m along from this intersection. One camera trap was used at each site between 1 April and 30 June and again between 30 August and 3 November, annually in 2006–2009.

    Study and other actions tested
Please cite as:

Littlewood, N.A., Rocha, R., Smith, R.K., Martin, P.A., Lockhart, S.L., Schoonover, R.F., Wilman, E., Bladon, A.J., Sainsbury, K.A., Pimm S. and Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Terrestrial Mammal Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions for terrestrial mammals excluding bats and primates. Synopses of Conservation Evidence Series. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

Terrestrial Mammal Conservation

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Terrestrial Mammal Conservation
Terrestrial Mammal Conservation

Terrestrial Mammal Conservation - Published 2020

Terrestrial Mammal Conservation

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