RESEARCH ARTICLE Mitigating Reptile Road Mortality: Fence Failures Compromise Ecopassage Effectiveness

Roadways pose serious threats to animal populations. The installation of roadway mitiga-tion measures is becoming increasingly common, yet studies that rigorously evaluate the ef-fectiveness of these conservation tools remain rare. A highway expansion project in Ontario, Canada included exclusion fencing and ecopassages as mitigation measures de-signed to offset detrimental effects to one of the most imperial groups of vertebrates, rep-tiles. Taking a multispecies approach, we used a Before-After-Control-Impact study design to compare reptile abundance on the highway before and after mitigation at an Impact site and a Control site from 1 May to 31 August in 2012 and 2013. During this time, radio teleme-try, wildlife cameras, and an automated PIT-tag reading system were used to monitor reptile movements and use of ecopassages. Additionally, a willingness to utilize experiment was conducted to quantify turtle behavioral responses to ecopassages. We found no difference in abundance of turtles on the road between the un-mitigated and mitigated highways, and an increase in the percentage of both snakes and turtles detected dead on the road post-mitigation, suggesting that the fencing was not effective. Although ecopassages were use