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Trail Impacts on Movement in Wildlife Corridors: A Cleveland Metroparks Case Study

Escalambre, Michelle
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1594308548636011

Abstract Details

2020, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography.
Wildlife corridors promote biodiversity, abate landscape fragmentation and – in areas of urban development – are often refuges for fauna. Yet, they appear at odds with their main goal of conserving wildlife’s natural habitat, especially when applied to a real-world context, because they are typically located in areas prone to anthropogenic disturbances. The literature varies over how concurrent use affects wildlife. One such space where this occurs is urban parks where wildlife movement overlaps spatially with recreationists. Park visitors utilize formal trails and depart from them to create informal trails. Many negative consequences toward wild biota have been attributed to informal trails, which contribute to anthropogenic-induced fragmentation and, indirectly, disturbances within the matrix. The overlap of trails with wildlife corridors begs the questions: are wildlife using the shared corridors within the reservations or should landscape, resource and trail managers be directing their efforts elsewhere to facilitate wildlife movement? Also, to what degree, if any, will wildlife move through corridors shared with humans? To answer these questions, baseline and biodiversity data needed to be established first. Employing round-the-clock, passive, remotely triggered camera pairs in two urban parks in greater Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., scenarios were tested along a continuum of wildlife-anthropogenic interfacing that occurs on trails. Formal and informal trails in Cleveland Metroparks were studied, in addition to an area with restored informal trails. Examining the majority of terrestrial, animal wildlife, likelihood of Verified Use was established for each species, guild, and as a whole. Verified Use was defined as any species being detected on both cameras in the pair within a +/- five minute window. I found that non-consumptive, anthropogenic use of trails did not necessarily hinder terrestrial wildlife’s movement as suggested in the literature. In situ, not all terrestrial wildlife used the four trails uniformly to facilitate their movement. Thus, landscape and natural resource managers would be best served to assess informal trail restoration and formal trail creation on a case-by-case basis. By incorporating a second study area, I captured a snapshot of how biodiversity, animal movement, biotic presence and concurrent use may change when an informal trail is restored to its natural habitat.
David Kaplan (Advisor)
Timothy Assal (Committee Member)
Emariana Widner (Committee Member)
Patrick Lorch (Committee Member)
117 p.
Biology; Geography
biogeography; landscape ecology; urban ecology; recreation ecology; wildlife corridor; habitat; trails; park; movement; wildlife; humans; visitors; Ohio; corridor; landscape; use; anthropogenic; biodiversity; presence; matrix; physical geography

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Escalambre, M. (2020). Trail Impacts on Movement in Wildlife Corridors: A Cleveland Metroparks Case Study [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1594308548636011

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Escalambre, Michelle. Trail Impacts on Movement in Wildlife Corridors: A Cleveland Metroparks Case Study. 2020. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1594308548636011.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Escalambre, Michelle. "Trail Impacts on Movement in Wildlife Corridors: A Cleveland Metroparks Case Study." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1594308548636011

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1594308548636011
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