The Unexpected Ways Roads Are Changing Nature

Roads connect us, to our jobs, our families, our food, and our future. But what if the very thing that keeps us moving is quietly reshaping the natural world? In this video, I explore the surprising ecological impact of roads: from dirt roads to sprawling highways, and from habitat fragmentation to the staggering toll of roadkill. We’ll uncover how roads divide ecosystems, disrupt migration, and threaten species survival, and we’ll ask the big question: can we build roads that work for both people and nature? #ecology #science #wildlife #biology #nature #environment

I’m Dr Sam Munroe, an ecologist passionate about making science accessible to everyone. Whether you’re a curious student, a fellow nature nerd, or just someone who’s ever wondered how nature works, this channel is for you

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:13 How Much Road Is Out There?
03:08 Habitat Fragmentation
05:11 Roadkill
07:49 Animal Behaviour
12:48 Chemical Pollution
13:50 Can We Build Better Roads?

Social Media and my credentials:
Bluesky: Dr Samantha Munroe (@drsalmonroe.bsky.social)
LinkedIn:   / samantha-munroe-26b484b3  
Website: https://smunroe.weebly.com/
Research Publications: https://scholar.google.com.au/citatio...

Unless otherwise cited, stock video, imagery, music, and sound effects were provided by TechSmith Assets for Camtasia
Video was edited with Camtasia 2023

Citations & References
1. Good news: highway underpasses for wildlife actually work — The Conversation
2. Assessing the impact of roadkill on the persistence of wildlife populations: A case study on the giant anteater — ScienceDirect
3. Are roads ruining nature? — James Cook University
4. How Roads Have Transformed the Natural World — Smithsonian Magazine
5. Global Land Transport Infrastructure Requirements — CTCN Report
6. A 50-year increase in vehicle mortality of North American mammals — ResearchGate
7. The Lake Moeris Quarry Road: Oldest paved road in the world — ASCE
8. The Oldest Paved Road in the World Transported Volcanic Rock for Royal Sarcophagi — IFLScience
9. New map reveals shattering effect of roads on nature — The Guardian
10. Effects of roads on terrestrial vertebrate species in Latin America — ScienceDirect
11. Temporal clustering of prey in wildlife passages provides no evidence of a prey-trap — Scientific Reports
12. Among their many impacts, roads are driving rapid evolutionary adaptation in adjacent populations — Mongabay
13. Logging Speeds Little Red Fire Ant Invasion of Africa — JSTOR
14. Impact of roadkill worse than thought—some mammal populations could reach tipping point — Phys.org
15. Impact of roadkill worse than thought, study reveals — Nottingham Trent University
16. Effects of Noise on Wildlife — U.S. National Park Service
17. Safe passage for native wildlife using highway underpasses — Southern Cross University
18. Use of road underpasses by mammals and a monitor lizard in eastern Australia — Dryad Data Repository
19. Validez de la Hipótesis de la Trampa del Depredador para Interacciones Carnívoro-Ungulado en Estructuras para Cruce de Vida Silvestre