Do drivers intentionally target wildlife on roads?

Title
Do drivers intentionally target wildlife on roads?
Publication Date
2012
Author(s)
Beckmann, Christa
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7904-7228
Email: cbeckman@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:cbeckman
Shine, Richard
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia
Place of publication
Australia
DOI
10.1111/j.1442-9993.2011.02329.x
UNE publication id
une:22113
Abstract
Despite frequent reliance on surveys to document public attitudes towards conservation issues (such as invasive-species control), only rarely do researchers assess the validity of statements made by the public in response to such surveys. Therefore, how well responses match actual behaviour remains an open question. We conducted a survey asking drivers if they had seen and/or run over (intentionally or not) snakes, native frogs or invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) on roads in the Northern Territory of Australia. To compare actual driver behaviour to the survey responses, we also carried out field experiments where we quantified the rates at which model snakes, frogs and toads (and controls) were run over on a rural highway. Our results show a discrepancy between survey responses and driver behaviour: for example, 25% of the people we surveyed indicated that they intentionally run over cane toads, yet field experiments showed that model toads were run over no more frequently than expected by chance, or than any other type of model.
Link
Citation
Austral Ecology, 37(5), p. 629-632
ISSN
1442-9993
1442-9985
Start page
629
End page
632

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