There are few infrastructures that have as great an impact on wildlife and their habitat as transportation. Transportation has the dual effect of numerous direct impacts to wildlife (e.g., acting as a direct barrier, changing hydrology and thus vegetation and cover types, enhancing the introduction of exotics) and many indirect effects (e.g., allowing developmental access to land proximate to the transportation route that further occupies and fragments wildlife habitat – the “build it and they will come” reality).
From a biogeography standpoint, Florida already has a disadvantage in that is a peninsula that, like an island, exhibits wildlife limiting influences wherein the number of species expected, is a function of the island's size and degree of isolation. In this regard Florida, especially central and south Florida, reflect the island effect (not north Florida so much since it is a part of the main body of the North American land mass – not a peninsula). Transportation infrastructure tends to magnify or exacerbate this island effect by further fragmenting various wildlife landscapes and bringing its noted direct and indirect impacts.
Floridahabitat.org will work to provide information on planning, design and management of transportation infrastructure with the aim of limiting disruptive impacts to Florida's wildlife and their habitat.
Read more about Wildlife and Transportation on the wiki.
