The United States has 6.5 million kilometers of public roads that are used by approximately 255 million vehicles annually. Road corridors cover approximately 1% of the surface of the United States, but the ecological impacts extend well beyond these actual road surfaces. A minimum of 19% of the terrestrial United States is directly affected by roads, and 22% of the United States appears to be ecologically altered by our road network. Roads alter species interactions, animal behavior, soil characteristics, hydrology, and vegetative cover. The magnitude of these effects is correlated with proximity to the road surface, but extends throughout a “road effect zoneâ€. The Splatter Spotter app developed by California State University for iPhones is designed to allow you to help scientists track where road kill is the most common, allowing us to better design roads and crossing structures to minimize the harm to animals and the hazards to drivers. To download, visit www.roadkill.csuci.edu.
