Daylight saving time can decrease the frequency of wildlife-vehicle collisions.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ellis WA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5134043 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Daylight saving time can decrease the frequency of wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Ellis William A WA FitzGibbon Sean I SI Barth Benjamin J BJ Niehaus Amanda C AC David Gwendolyn K GK Taylor Brendan D BD Matsushige Helena H Melzer Alistair A Bercovitch Fred B FB Carrick Frank F Jones Darryl N DN Dexter Cathryn C Gillett Amber A Predavec Martin M Lunney Dan D Wilson Robbie S RS
Biology letters 20161101 11
Daylight saving time (DST) could reduce collisions with wildlife by changing the timing of commuter traffic relative to the behaviour of nocturnal animals. To test this idea, we tracked wild koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in southeast Queensland, where koalas have declined by 80% in the last 20 years, and compared their movements with traffic patterns along roads where they are often killed. Using a simple model, we found that DST could decrease collisions with koalas by 8% on weekdays and 11% ...[more]
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