Wildlife Behavior at Culverts in East Texas

Authors: Samantha J. Leivers, Michael L. Morrison, Brian L. Pierce, Melissa B. Meierhofer

Roadways are frequently associated with negative effects on wildlife, including direct effects such as vehicular fatalities, barriers to transit, removal of vegetation, habitat loss, edge effects, and corridor effects (e.g., Bennet 1991; Seiler 2003; Coffin 2007; Fahrig & Rytwinski 2009; Chen & Koprowski 2019), as well as indirect effects
such as vehicle noise and artificial light (Goodwin & Shriver 2011; Shannon et al. 2014; Bliss-Ketchum et al. 2016; Troïanowski et al. 2017). Yet, many species of wildlife occur along roadways (Fahrig & Rytwinski 2009; Sparks & Gates 2012) as roadways can provide some positive benefits. For example, vegetation along roadways can provide
refuges (e.g., Ruiz-Capillas et al. 2013) and can support a diversity of small mammals (e.g., Gonzalez-Olimon et al. 2016). Roadways can provide foraging and scavenging substrates and use of structures along roadways such as powerlines and poles provide perches for hunting for birds (Morelli et al. 2014).

A point of interest for wildlife studies along roadways is the use of culverts. Most culverts were initially designed for drainage, allowing water flow under an obstruction such as a road, or to contain existing streams. Although not initially installed for use by wildlife, these structured tunnels connect contiguous landscape features, facilitating
relatively safe passage of wildlife (Sparks & Gates 2012). However, the role of culverts in wildlife ecology may expand well beyond the safe passage of wildlife in urbanized areas, such as providing roosts for bats (e.g., Walker et al. 1996; Keeley & Tuttle 1999; Sandel et al. 2001; Meierhofer et al. 2019), and nesting locations for some species
of birds (e.g., Shochat et al. 2005). Whereas most behavioral studies on wildlife use of culverts focus on passage of wildlife, culverts provide refuge where various behaviors can be performed (Donaldson 2007; Sparks & Gates 2012). While the use of culverts by animals outside of travel is often mentioned in passing in the literature, the breadth of behaviors performed—and by what species—remains relatively unknown and unquantified. In this preliminary investigation, our goal was to document species richness and the behaviors performed by wildlife at culverts located under Interstate 45 (I-45) in East Texas. We did not determine why different species use different culverts, but instead collected preliminary data on culvert use in this region that could inform or support future research endeavors.

Suggested Citation