Install underpasses beneath ski runs

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

50%
Certainty

30%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Infrastructure and land management associated with the ski industry has, on balance, a negative effect on mammals (Sato et al. 2013). One source of impact is habitat fragmentation, through construction of ski runs across previously forested slopes. Underpasses could facilitate mammal movements between habitat patches, especially if they mimic previous ground conditions across rocky slopes.

Sato C.F., Wood J.T. & Lindenmayer D.B. (2013) The effects of winter recreation on alpine and subalpine fauna: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE, 8, e64282.

Study locations

Key messages

One study evaluated the effects on mammals of installing underpasses beneath ski runs. This study was in Australia.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

POPULATION RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

BEHAVIOUR (1 STUDY)

Use (1 study): A replicated study in Australia found that boulder-filled crossings beneath ski slopes were used by seven small mammal species.

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

A replicated study in 2009–2013 in a woodland, heath, and grassland site in New South Wales, Australia (Schroder & Sato 2017) found that boulder-filled crossings beneath ski slopes were used by small mammals. Seven mammal species were detected using crossings. From 131 detections where mammals were identified to species, the most frequent were bush rat Rattus fuscipes (62 detections), broad-toothed rat Mastacomys fuscus (35 detection), dusky antechinus Antechinus swainsonii (21 detections) and black rat Rattus rattus (10 detections). Eight boulder-filled crossings were constructed under ski runs on grass slopes of a ski area that operated in June–September. Crossings linked remnant heath or woodland. Crossings comprised trenches, 0.4–2.4 m deep, 1–9 m wide, 12–79 m long and filled with rocks of 0.2–2 m diameter. Mammal passage was monitored using hair tubes every 3–6 m (4–13 tubes/crossing). Most crossings were surveyed biannually (7 days in each March–April and November–December) from March 2009 to April 2013.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Schroder M. & Sato C.F. (2017) An evaluation of small-mammal use of constructed wildlife crossings in ski resorts. Wildlife Research, 44, 259-268.

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

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Terrestrial Mammal Conservation

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