Page "Wildlife crossing" Paragraph 6

The first three impacts ( loss of habitat, road kill, and isolation from resources ) exert pressure on various animal populations by reducing available resources and directly killing individuals in a population.

For instance, found that road kills do not pose a significant threat to healthy populations but can be devastating to small, shrinking, or threatened populations.

Road mortality has significantly impacted a number of prominent species in the United States, including white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), Florida panthers ( Puma concolor coryi ), and black bears ( Ursus americanus ).

In addition, habitat loss can be direct, if habitat is destroyed to make room for a road, or indirect, if habitat quality close to roads is compromised due to emissions from the roads ( e. g. noise, light, runoff, pollution, etc.

Finally, species that are unable to migrate across roads to reach resources such as food, shelter and mates will experience reduced reproductive and survival rates, which can compromise population viability ( Noss et al., 1996 ).