Effects of reflective warning markers on wildlife

Yi-Hao Fang; Ying Gao; Yin Yang; Kun Tan; Yan-Peng Li; Guo-Peng Ren; Zhi-Pang Huang; Liang-Wei Cui; Wen Xiao

doi:10.7717/peerj.7614

Effects of reflective warning markers on wildlife

PeerJ. 2019 Sep 3:7:e7614. doi: 10.7717/peerj.7614. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Yi-Hao Fang^#^{1

2

3

4

5}, Ying Gao^#^{1

2

3

4

5}, Yin Yang^{1

2

3

4

6}, Kun Tan^{1

2

3

4}, Yan-Peng Li^{1

2

3

4}, Guo-Peng Ren^{1

2

3

4}, Zhi-Pang Huang^{1

2

3

4}, Liang-Wei Cui^{2

3

4

5}, Wen Xiao^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, China.
² Collaborative Innovation Center for Biodiversity and Conservation in the Three Parallel Rivers Region of China, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, China.
³ The Provincial Innovation Team of Biodiversity Conservation and Utility of the Three Parallel Rivers Region from Dali University, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, China.
⁴ The Key Laboratory of Yunnan Education Department on Er'hai Catchment Conservation and Sustainable Development, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, China.
⁵ Faculty of Biodiversity Conservation and Utilization, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
⁶ School of Archaeology & Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Light pollution has become one of the top issues in environmental pollution, especially concerning how secondary light pollution, such as from traffic reflective materials, influences animal distribution and behavior. In this study, 15 camera traps were set up at sites with or without reflective warning markers (RWM) in coniferous forests on Cangshan Mountain located in Dali Prefecture, China. The results showed that the number of independent photographs and species at sites without RWMs were significantly higher than those at sites with RWMs. Significant differences were found between daytime and nighttime composition of bird species and non-flying mammals between two sites. This study found that RWMs had negative effects on wildlife, with the avoidance response of birds to RWMs being more obvious than that of animals at daytime. It is recommended that the use of reflective materials be carefully considered, especially in protected areas.

Keywords: Camera trap; Daytime; Nighttime; Reflective materials; Secondary light pollution.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO. 31560599, NO. 31560118, NO. 31860164 and NO. 31860168), the Program for Backup Talents of Young Academic and Technical Leaders in Yunnan Province (2015HB047), the Yunnan provincial program of 10,000 intellects - leading intellects for industrial technologies (Cui Liang-Wei, 2018), and the China Green Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.