Ultrasonic device effectiveness in keeping rodents off the road
2020
Sousa-Guedes, Diana | Ribeiro, Hélder | Vaz-Freire, Maria Teresa | Mira, António | Sillero, Neftalí
Finding achievable ways to reduce roads’ impacts on wildlife is a conservation priority. Road verges may be important refuges for small fauna, making them good hunting sites for predators. These make both prey and predators vulnerable to vehicle collisions. Thus, actions aiming to dissuade these animals from approaching roads are needed. Here we tested the effectiveness of ultrasonic devices to keep rodents away from the road verges. We hypothesised that exposing rodents to ultrasounds will cause them to stay away from the device and, consequently, from the road. We sampled rodents before and after the devices were switched on. Our results showed a reduction in animal activity after 10 days with the devices on. The next step is to analyse if this behaviour translates in a reduction of wildlife-vehicle collisions of rodents and their predators.
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