J.T. Oosterhoff (Hanna)

In my PhD project, I study how roads affect mammal populations. Many mammals perceive roads as a risk, and therefore change their behaviour and movement when they are close to them. While on the one hand it is beneficial if mammals avoid roads, because this will reduce their risk of collision with a vehicle, this behaviour can also lead to a large loss of connectivity. With almost half the earth being in close proximity to roads, it could be that roads are severely affecting mammal populations around the world. My project's aim is to predict where this impact is largest and which species are affected most, based on the characteristics of both the road and the species.