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Boutique des Sciences > Projects > 2014-2015


Measuring the functionality of biological corridors

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Ever increasing transport infrastructures in France result in continual territorial segmentation, which in turn affects the movement corridors of animals. The Gier Valley is crisscrossed by multiple transport lines: the RD488 secondary road, the A47 motorway and railway lines. The A47 dates from the second half of the 20th century, and no compensatory measure to allow for the free movement of fauna was considered at the time. The Gier Valley is located in the centre of an ecological corridor lying between the Pilat Massif and the Côteaux du Lyonnais. Within the framework of a “territorial biological contract for the greater Pilat region”, the Fédération Départementale des Chasseurs du Rhône et de la Métropole de Lyon (“Departmental Federation of Hunters of the Rhône and Metropolitan Lyon”, FDCRML) was commissioned for the Rhône section of the Gier Valley to assess the capacity of wild animals to cross this valley.

So as to remain in coherence with the research already carried out within the Loire department, only the motorway was surveyed. To this end, an inventory was initially carried out of those structures located along the A47. Then, depending on their technical characteristics (size, substratum, etc.) and location, the structures were equipped with camera traps, when appropriate. At the same time, data on A47 wildlife collisions and numerous exchanges with local stakeholders (notably hunters) allowed us to identify the key zones. The analysis of all these elements demonstrated the dysfunctionality of the identified corridor and specifically underlined the motorway’s barrier effect vis-à-vis large animals. With a view to re-establishing ecological bridges between the Côteaux du Lyonnais and the Pilat Massif, we proposed the modification of existing structures and the creation of new structures, such as biological bridges.


CSO

Fédération des chasseurs du Rhône
Didier Dailly, coordinateur des services techniques

student

Gaëtan BERGERON – M2 Bioévaluation des Ecosystémes et Expertise de la Biodiversité, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1

researcher

Academic tutor :
Jean-Michel GAILLARD - Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
Scientific supervisor :
François MIALHE – 2ème volet – géographie et aménagement – GHHAT, Université Lumière Lyon 2