Corrigendum to “Factors affecting usage of crossing structures by wildlife – a systematic review and meta-analysis” [Sci. Total Environ., 777, 146061, February 2021. DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146061s] (Science of the Total Environment (2021) 777, (S0048969721011281), (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146061))

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debate

Abstract

An error was found in the meta-analysis section of the paper, in the statistical analysis of the effects of overpass properties on usage by ungulates. The error in analysis stems from a data typing mistake. For the variable ‘Study’ which represented the studies from which data points were taken, an entry of three data points that belong to the same study (Gagnon et al., 2017) were incorrectly typed as belonging to three differing studies due to an unintended numeric autocomplete action by the spreadsheet software. Since in the statistical model the variable ‘Study’ is used as a random variable, the analysis was conducted as if the three data points originated from three different studies and not from a single study. This error only applies to the effects of overpass attributes on ungulates, because the data taken from the study for which the error was made regards only Desert bighorn (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) usage of overpasses. The data were corrected and reanalyzed using the same statistical methods as were originally used. We found that all effects originally identified by the analysis were unchanged in significance and direction, except for one variable. Overpass width, which was originally found to have a negative effect on overpass usage by ungulates, was now found to have a positive effect. This result is in agreement with the literature on overpass usage by ungulates (Clevenger and Waltho, 2005). We thank the authors of a recent paper by Brennan et al. (2022), for pointing out the possible inaccuracy in our results, which led to the reexamination of the data and identification of the error in our analysis. The sentence ‘Surprisingly, overpass width was negatively correlated with PSC for ungulates but positive for large carnivores.’ should be replaced with ‘Overpass width was positively correlated with PSC for ungulates and for large carnivores.’. The sentences ‘In contrast, we have also found that ungulates prefer to use narrow overpasses, which is counter intuitive. One possible explanation for this effect may be that wider overpasses are used more often by large carnivores and therefore ungulates could be avoiding these structures due to fear of predation.’ should be deleted. Fig. 1b (within Fig. 1) showing the effects of overpass properties on usage by ungulates and carnivores (rectangles representing ungulates) should be replaced with the following figure:[Formula presented] The part of Fig.

Original languageEnglish
Article number163131
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Volume878
DOIs
StatePublished - 20 Jun 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Pollution
  • Waste Management and Disposal
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry

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