Large carnivores shape road safety through effects on prey space use

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Wildlife Management

Background:

• Quantifying ecosystem services from large carnivores is crucial for human-carnivore coexistence.
• Predation services, such as reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs), are under-researched.
• Understanding predator impacts on prey space use is key to improving road safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how pumas (predators) influence ungulate (prey) habitat use.
• To determine the subsequent effects on the probability and frequency of deer-vehicle collisions.
• To quantify the road safety benefits provided by pumas.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a large camera trap dataset and wildlife-vehicle collision data.
• Employed occupancy models to analyze deer habitat use in relation to puma presence.
• Incorporated puma collar data to corroborate findings on prey behavior and collision timing.

Main Results:

• Puma presence led to more diurnal deer activity and reduced use of high-road density areas (15% decrease).
• Deer were more likely (86%) to occupy remote habitats away from development when pumas were present.
• Puma-induced changes in deer behavior were associated with significant reductions in WVC probability (67%) and total expected collisions (76%).

Conclusions:

• Pumas substantially reduce deer-vehicle collision risk by altering deer behavior, even in established populations.
• Predator-mediated changes in prey space use offer significant societal benefits through enhanced road safety.
• This study quantifies the ecological service of reduced WVCs provided by large carnivore presence.