Person: Barrientos Yuste, Rafael
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First Name
Rafael
Last Name
Barrientos Yuste
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Ciencias Biológicas
Department
Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución
Area
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3 results
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Item A review of searcher efficiency and carcass persistency in infrastructure-driven mortality assessment studies(Biological Conservation, 2018) Barrientos Yuste, Rafael; Martins, Ricardo; Ascensão, Fernando; D'Amico, Marcello; Moreira, Francisco; Borda-de-Agua, LuisInfrastructures in natural areas are expanding rapidly worldwide. Consequently, roads, power-lines, and wind-farms cause millions of fatalities across several animal groups. Assessing the population impact of these infrastructures requires sound estimates of the total number of fatalities. These estimates can be heavily biased due to differences in searcher efficiency and carcass persistence rates, which may ultimately lead to the incorrect quantification of actual mortality, or to the inadequate prioritization of locations for mitigation. We reviewed 294 studies using carcass surveys conducted worldwide and performed analyses on the effects of variables potentially influencing searcher efficiency and carcass persistence rates. Our analytical review, including the largest number of studies to date, the use of multivariate approaches, and the study weighting by sample size, contradicts some previous findings. Whereas body mass is confirmed as the most important variable accounting for both biases, equally important was the use of dogs in searches, as they increased searcher efficiency for small carcasses, and the taxon of carcasses for persistence, as mammals persisted at higher rates than birds and the latter at higher rates than amphibians. Our results provide little support for previous ideas on the influence of the use of domestic or thawed carcasses on persistence rates. Our findings contribute to synthesizing knowledge on the main factors affecting the two main mortality biases across carcass field experiments, and suggest recommendations for improving survey designs in future studies to minimize the biases identified.Item Railway Ecology vs. Road Ecology: similarities and differences(European Journal of Wildlife Research, 2019) Barrientos Yuste, Rafael; Ascensão, Fernando; Beja, Pedro; Pereira, Henrique ; Borda-de-Agua, LuisRailway ecology is an emerging discipline. In this review, we focus on what is known today regarding the impacts of railways on wildlife, and on the methods to identify, monitor, and mitigate these impacts. Wildlife-train collisions are the most often reported impact, although railway lines can also represent barriers to animal movement, bisecting populations or reducing wildlife access to resources. Little is known on the impact of habitat loss and fragmentation due to railways alone, or on their disturbance effects, including pollution (noise, chemical, light), and on the potential to provide habitat connectivity or surrogate habitats for native species in degraded landscapes. Molecular techniques are one of the most promising methods to study the impacts of railways, as genetic analyses are useful to identify both population sub-structuring, and to assess the potential restoration of functional connectivity by mitigation measures like wildlife passes, or to estimate effective population sizes. Field work is necessary to provide credible mortality rates, which, combined with computer simulations, can allow for estimations of the impact of mortality on population viability. Studies should ideally have Before-After-Control-Impact designs and be long-term. We need to improve mortality estimates, and to understand how impacts threaten population dynamics. We need to go from local-scale studies (e.g., animals use the underpasses) to landscape-scale (i.e., where to place these underpasses to maximize the connectivity at regional/populational levels). Finally, we need to expand our knowledge on less studied, less charismatic species, and to explore the potential environmental benefits of green practices on railway corridors.Item Railway Ecology(2017) Borda-de-Agua, Luis; Barrientos Yuste, Rafael; Beja, Pedro; Pereira, Henrique ; Borda-de-Agua, Luis; Barrientos Yuste, Rafael; Barrientos, Rafael; Beja, Pedro; Pereira, HenriqueThis book provides a unique overview of the impacts of railways on biodiversity, integrating the existing knowledge on the ecological effects of railways on wildlife, identifying major knowledge gaps and research directions and presenting the emerging field of railway ecology. The book is divided into two major parts: Part one offers a general review of the major conceptual and theoretical principles of railway ecology. The chapters consider the impacts of railways on wildlife populations and concentrate on four major topics: mortality, barrier effects, species invasions and disturbances (ranging from noise to chemical pollution). Part two focuses on a number of case studies from Europe, Asia and North America written by an international group of experts.