An Economic Analysis of a Simple Structural Method to Reduce Road-Kills of Royal Terns at Bridges

Authors

Stephanie A. Shwiff, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Henry T. Smith, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Park Service
Alice M. Bard, Florida Deparmtent of Environmental Protection, Florida Park Service
Terese V. Harbor, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Park Service, Sebastain Inlet State Park
Richard M. Engeman, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife ServicesFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

August 2003

Comments

Published by Caribbean Journal of Science, Vol. 39, No. 2, 250–253, 2003. Copyright 2003 College of Arts and Sciences. University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Abstract

Royal terns (Sterna maxima) in Florida are listed as a “species of special concern” by the Florida Committee on Rare and Endangered Plants and Animals (Egensteiner et al., 1996). These birds live along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida throughout the year (Egensteiner et al., 1996); their winter range along the Atlantic Coast of the United States is from North Carolina south through Florida (Clapp et al., 1983), with the Florida population augmented by terns migrating from breeding colonies farther north. Collisions with vehicles cause many marine bird road-kills at some coastal roads and bridges in Florida (Skoog, 1982; Smith et al., 1994; Bard et al., 2002b). General methods to reduce wildlife resource road kills have included reduced speed limits, physical barriers, and public education (Bertwistle, 1999; Brown et al., 1999; Evink, 1999). We examine herein the benefit-costs from a multi-year trial of a simple hazard reduction method applied to a bridge in east-central Florida.