page_title: Linear infrastructure intrusions
section_title: Wildlife mortality and impacts on populations
hierarchical_section_title: Linear infrastructure intrusions / Wildlife mortality and impacts on populations
caption_attribution_description: English: Jackal roadkill near Kurnool, Andhra pradesh
context_page_description: Linear infrastructure intrusions into natural ecosystems are man-made linear infrastructure such as roads and highways, electric power lines, railway lines, canals, pipelines, firebreaks, and fences. These intrusions cause linear opening through the habitat or breakage in landscape connectivity due to infrastructure creation and maintenance, which is known to have multiple ecological effects in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. These effects include habitat loss and fragmentation, spread of invasive alien species, desiccation, windthrow, fires, animal injury and mortality, changes in animal behaviour, pollution, microclimate and vegetation changes, loss of ecosystem services, increased pressures from development, tourism, hunting, garbage disposal, and associated human disturbances. These intrusions, considered crucial infrastructure for economic sectors such as transportation, power, and irrigation, may also have negative social impacts on indigenous and rural people through exposure to novel social and market pressures, loss of land and displacement, and iniquitous distribution of costs and benefits from infrastructure projects.
context_section_description: Mortality of wildlife in natural ecosystems is one of the direct impacts of linear infrastructure intrusions. This occurs in a variety of ways: roadkill (or wildlife – vehicle collisions, WVC) in the case of roads and highways, electrocution along power lines, drowning in irrigation canals, and impalement or snagging on fences. Animals may also be killed during construction of the infrastructure, earthwork and annual maintenance operations, which may particularly affect slow-moving and burrowing species such as turtles, snakes, and soil fauna. Plant and animal mortality may also be caused by road construction equipment. Wildlife mortality may have several consequences on animal populations in the vicinity of linear infrastructures. Disruptions caused by linear infrastructure may increase negative human – wildlife interactions (conflicts) involving species such as wild elephants and large carnivores thereby leading to additional mortality. The effects may result in reduced wildlife population densities or avoidance of areas close to linear infrastructure. A review of studies found mammal and bird population densities declined with their proximity to infrastructure, with the influence of infrastructure on bird populations extending up to about 1 km, and effects on mammal populations up to about 5 km.
caption: Jackal roadkill, India
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