Short Wave Animal Crossing: The Destructive Nature of Roads
Sep 13, 2023
Ben Goldfarb, an environmental journalist and author of "Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet," dives into the hidden chaos caused by our vast network of roads. He explores how roadways disrupt ecosystems and lead to alarming declines in amphibian populations, while sharing stories of wildlife adapting to these dangers. Goldfarb also introduces innovative solutions like highway overpasses and wildlife crossings, showcasing a hopeful path toward coexistence between roads and nature.
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Amphibian Roadkill
- Amphibians, like frogs and salamanders, frequently become roadkill during their migrations to breeding pools.
- Biologists initially dismissed this as a negligible problem, assuming amphibian populations could compensate.
The Busy Road Paradox
- Ecologist Lenore Farragh observed that the busiest roads had the least frog roadkill.
- This is because heavy traffic drastically reduces amphibian populations, sometimes to local extinction.
Early Observations of Roadkill's Impact
- Early 20th-century biologists noticed roadkill involving small animals.
- Western biologists observed that roads and traffic disrupted animal migrations, leading to starvation and localized extinctions.
