Evaluating the Effectiveness of Road Passage Structures for Freshwater Turtles in Massachusetts

Paulson, David J

Publication:
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Road Passage Structures for Freshwater Turtles in Massachusetts

dc.contributor.advisor	Paul R Sievert
dc.contributor.author	Paulson, David J
dc.contributor.department	University of Massachusetts Amherst
dc.contributor.department	Wildlife & Fisheries Conservation
dc.date	2023-09-22T20:25:44.000
dc.date.accessioned	2024-04-26T21:08:52Z
dc.date.available	2009-11-23T00:00:00Z
dc.date.issued	2010-01-01
dc.date.submitted	February
dc.description.abstract	Roads are long linear features on the landscape that impact wildlife and their habitats. Among all forms of wildlife turtles are one of the most negatively affected by roads. Wildlife biologists and civil engineers have developed and implemented road design measures to mitigate the negative effects associated with roads. One common approach used to reduce road mortality and to facilitate movement of turtles is to construct a road mitigation system. There are currently 28 road mitigation systems for wildlife in Massachusetts, of which 14 were specifically built for turtles. We identified all known systems in Massachusetts and collected site and structural design information for each. In addition, we also examined the relative effectiveness of experimental passages for freshwater turtles. Structures were evaluated with respect to how their height, width, and position (at or below-grade), influenced the movements of painted turtles. A total of 190 turtles were exposed to the experiential trials and their behavior was characterized by 3 response variables (Total time to complete the trial, Total hesitations observed, and Success based on no hesitations and completion of the trial in less than 120 minutes). We concluded that painted turtles exposed to below-grade tunnels were less hesitant and traveled faster through them as the tunnel size increased from 0.6 m x 0.6 m to 1.2 m x 1.2 m. The 1.2 m x 1.2 m tunnel size overall proved to be the size with the fewest hesitations observed, fastest total times, and highest success rate.
dc.description.degree	Master of Science (M.S.)
dc.identifier.doi	https://doi.org/10.7275/1071388
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/47263
dc.relation.url	https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1466&context=theses&unstamped=1
dc.source.status	published
dc.subject	Ecology
dc.subject	Road Ecology
dc.subject	Road Mitigation Systems
dc.subject	Road Passage Structures
dc.subject	Freshwater Turtles
dc.subject	Painted turtles
dc.subject	Behavior and Ethology
dc.subject	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
dc.subject	Biology
dc.title	Evaluating the Effectiveness of Road Passage Structures for Freshwater Turtles in Massachusetts
dc.type	open
dc.type	article
dc.type	thesis
digcom.contributor.author	isAuthorOfPublication\|email:dpaulson@acad.umass.edu\|institution:University of Massachusetts Amherst\|Paulson, David J
digcom.date.embargo	2009-11-23T00:00:00-08:00
digcom.identifier	theses/384
digcom.identifier.contextkey	1071388
digcom.identifier.submissionpath	theses/384
dspace.entity.type	Publication