RT Journal Article
T1 Lack of maintenance of motorway fences works against their intended purpose with potential negative impacts on protected species.
A1 Farfán-Aguilar, Miguel Ángel
A1 Fa, Julia E.
A1 Martín-Taboada, Adrián
A1 García-Carrasco, José María
A1 Duarte, Jesús
K1 Autopistas - Impacto ambiental
K1 Especies protegidas
K1 Camaleones - Efectos de la modificación del hábitat
K1 Camaleones - Protección
AB Linear infrastructure intrusions into natural ecosystems, such as motorways and high-speed railways,causes direct loss of habitat but also impacts fauna through collisions. Wildlife road mortality is welldocumented and extensive conservation legislation exists in many countries to minimise the negativeimpact of these infrastructures. However, although these measures are implemented because oflegislation, these structures are often not adequately maintained. Here we present data on thefunctionality of perimeter fences along two motorways in Malaga province (southern Spain) erected toprevent collisions with the common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon). We sampled the fences alongthe 14 km of the two motorways included in the 17 1 × 1 km squares of the study area. Our results showthat the reptile fence is permeable throughout at those points where the metal sheeting was absentand where the vegetation had overgrown around the fence, hence allowing chameleons to cross. Givenour results, we conclude that this situation is likely to be similar in other regions of Spain and in othercountries. This is because construction/concessionary companies do not consider the environmentalimpact of construction projects in the medium and long term, and environmental authorities do notensure that companies comply with the legislation.
PB Springer Nature
YR 2020
FD 2020-01-21
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/29816
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/29816
LA eng
NO Farfán, M. A., Fa, J. E., Martín-Taboada, A., García-Carrasco, J. M. y Duarte, J. (2020). Lack of maintenance of motorway fences works against their intended purpose with potential negative impacts on protected species. Scientific Reports, 10:791 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57767-4
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 20 ene 2026