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Vehicle collisions with animals pose serious issues in countries with well-developed highway networks. Both expanding wildlife populations and the development of urbanised areas reduce the potential contact distance between wildlife species and vehicles. Many recent studies have been conducted to better understand the factors that influence wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) and provide mitigation methods. Most of these studies examined road density, traffic volume, seasonal fluctuations, etc. However, in analysing the distribution of WVC, few studies have considered a spatial and significant distance geostatistical analysis approach that includes how different land-use categories are associated with the distance to WVCs. Our study investigated the spatial distribution of agricultural land, meadows and pastures, forests, built-up areas, rivers, lakes, and ponds, to highlight the most dangerous sections of roadways where WVCs occur. We examined six potential ‘hot spot’ distances (5–10–25–50–100–200 m) to evaluate the role different landscape elements play in the occurrence of WVC. The near analysis tool showed that a distance of 10–25 m to different landscape elements provided the most sensitive results. Hot spots associated with agricultural land, forests, as well as meadows and pastures, peaked on roadways in close proximity (10 m), while hot spots associated with built-up areas, rivers, lakes, and ponds peaked on roadways farther (200 m) from these land-use types. We found that the order of habitat importance in WVC hot spots was agricultural land < forests < meadows and pastures < built-up areas < rivers < lakes and ponds. This methodological approach includes general hot-spot analysis as well as differentiated distance analysis which helps to better reveal the influence of landscape structure on WVCs.

We investigated the relationship between lunar illumination based on the percentage of the visible lunar disk (LDP) and the frequency of wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) in Lithuania. We analyzed WVC frequency during ten 10% LDP intervals to more precisely reflect the relationship between LDP and WVC. The 10% LDP interval approach showed a significant trend of increasing WVC frequencies with an increasing LDP at night. We also examined the correlation between the daily numbers of WVCs and LDP for different months and seasons. The relationship seemed to be stronger at night and during the late autumn–winter months, particularly in December, suggesting the importance of lunar illumination on WVCs. There was a weak positive correlation between LDP and overall daily number of WVCs (rs = 0.091; p < 0.001) and between LDP and night WVCs (rs = 0.104; p < 0.001). We found significant positive correlations for winter (December–February) (rs = 0.118; p = 0.012) and autumn (August–November) (rs = 0.127; p = 0.007). Our study suggests that the LDP interval approach may provide more possibilities for the evaluation and quantification of WVCs and lunar light relationships than the traditional lunar phase approach.

Our paper reviews the current understanding of mercury in the environment of soil and sediment, including sampling, mobilization phases and analyzing methods. As a dangerous trace element, mercury has been shown to have several harmful effects on the environment. Mercury is released into the environment in a variety of chemical forms by both geogenic and human activities, with the majority of it coming from anthropogenic sources. It is affected by environmental conditions such as pH, redox potential, light and temperature-all of which determine its final chemical form-reactivity and toxicity. Methylmercury is considered one of the most poisonous forms found in nature. Considering the methodologies of the studies carried out we have found that the best technique for preserving methylmercury in soil and sediment samples is to freeze it immediately after collection. Organically rich soils are related to higher total mercury levels. Plants, such as Solanum nigrum (BR3) and Cynodon dactylon (BR2), can play an important role in mercury transport and accumulation. Solid-phase selenium causes faster demethylation and slower methylation of mercury. Methylmercury can increase by climate change and thawing; arctic permafrost is a potential source of Hg. Chemical vapor generation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to develop a simple and quick method for measuring methylmercury; ultrasonic agitation and HNO3 were used for the process, the last of which proved to be the most efficient for selective extraction of methylmercury.

Ungulates (mainly Cervidae and wild boar Sus scrofa) are considered among the most problematic wildlife suffering on roads and causing the largest material losses due to high densities of ungulate populations, spatial and temporal movement patterns, and body size of these animals. Roe deer–vehicle collision (RDVC) as the most usual cause of ungulate fatality on roads may be applied as an appropriate model for understanding ungulate-vehicle collision patterns in general. To better understand, manage, and mitigate RDVCs, a detailed knowledge of the temporal behavioral patterns of roe deer is essential. In order to determine the role roe deer behavior plays in RDVCs, we examine time-dependent patterns of RDVCs in Lithuania, a country with a relatively low human population density and less developed transport infrastructure compared with other European countries with relatively high human population density and more intensive road network. Our analysis includes 5556 RDVC records from 2013 to 2016 and examines both short-term and long-term periods to determine the interrelationship between roe deer behavior and vehicle collisions. Our results document the relationship between RDVCs and season of the year with the highest RDVCs peaks occurring in late spring (May, 817, 14.7% of RDVC) and late autumn (November, 626, 11.3%). The daily RDVC frequency is influenced by seasonal changes in sunrise, sunset, and timing of twilight and the impact of these environmental variables on vehicle operator behavior. Our findings are comparable with those reported elsewhere in Europe and suggest that roe deer temporal behavioral patterns influence RDVCs more than transport infrastructure.

Preference of beavers for tree and shrub species during the autumn food caching period was investigated in western Massachusetts. Cafeteria-style feeding experiments designed to test differences in food selection for immediate consumption vs. longer-term storage were conducted. Beavers removed 80 to 95.9% of all branches of deciduous species offered, while only 65% of the branches of the one evergreen species (Pinus strobus) offered were removed. Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) was consistently cached more often than other species, especially in early autumn. The most abundant species available near the colony area, red maple (Acer rubrum), was removed at a high rate, but used for immediate consumption or construction in early autumn, and not stored at a high rate until November. The differential use of woody species is more evident in early autumn whereas all species, including pine, are stored later in the caching period.

At a newly occupied pond, beavers preferentially felled aspen smaller than 7.5 cm in diameter and selected against larger size classes. After one year of cutting, 10% of the aspen had been cut and 14% of the living aspen exhibited the juvenile growth form. A phenolic compound which may act as a deterrent to beavers was found in low concentrations in aspen bark, and there was no significant regression of relative concentration of this compound on tree diameter. At a pond which had been intermittently occupied by beavers for over 20 years, beavers selected against aspen smaller than 4.5 cm in diameter, and selected in favor of aspen larger than 19.5 cm in diameter. After more than 28 years of cutting at this site, 51% of the aspen had been cut and 49% of the living aspen were juvenile-form. The phenolic compound was found in significantly higher concentrations in aspen bark than at the newly occupied site, and there was a significant negative regression of relative concentration on tree diameter. The results of this study show that responses to browsing by trees place constraints on the predictive value of standard energy-based optimal foraging models, and limitations on the use of such models. Future models should attempt to account for inducible responses of plants to damage and increases in concentrations of secondary metabolites through time.

The beaver (Castor canadensis ) colony is most often an extended nuclear family consisting of a mated adult pair, yearlings, and the young-of-year called kits (Bradt, 1938; Hodgdon, 1978; Jenkins and Busher, 1979; Svendsen, 1980). In this paper the author presents the 34-year demographic history of an unexploited marked beaver population in California, and specifically examines the demographic structure of the population during a period of population growth and increasing population density.

\"Beaver Protection, Management, and Utilization in Europe and North America\" edited by Peter E. Busher and Ryszard M. Dziciaowski is reviewed.