Consequences of roads and traffic-related stressors on freshwater biodiversity

Road development has expanded globally, with growing recognition of the impacts on freshwater systems. We synthesized findings from 426 publications to assess: 1) where and for which taxa road effects on freshwater biodiversity have been studied; 2) the types of roads and putative stressors examined; 3) the study designs and biological responses measured; and 4) the reported road effects on freshwater biodiversity. Most studies were from North America (62.1%), focusing on amphibians (36.1%), fish (14.8%), and reptiles (10.9%) in ponds/wetlands, laboratory settings, and streams. Research primarily assessed the impacts of paved roads and stressors such as road density/proximity (20%), traffic (18.4%), and salt/de-icers (17.9%). mostly using Impact-only (51.0%) and Control-Impact (46.5%) study designs. Abundance/diversity and mortality responses were the most frequently measured outcomes. Reported road effects were predominantly negative, underscoring widespread road impacts on freshwater ..., , # Consequences of roads and traffic-related stressors on freshwater biodiversity Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.tdz08kqd9](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tdz08kqd9) ## Description of the data and file structure A systematic search of the publication database ISI Web of Science Core Collections was performed on August 31, 2021 using the following search string: ((road* OR highway$ OR traffic OR motorway$ OR freeway$) AND (wildlife OR fauna OR flora OR animal$ OR fish* OR mammal$ OR bird$ OR avian OR amphibian$ OR reptile$ OR plant$ OR vegetation OR macrophyte$ OR invertebrate$ OR insect$ OR arachnid* OR arthropod* hexapod$ OR rotifer$ OR mollus* OR crustacea* OR dragonfl* OR mayfl* OR springtail$ OR stonefl* OR caddisfl* OR beetle$ OR diptera$ or flatworm$ OR nematod* OR polychaet* OR annelid$) AND (aquatic* OR “Fresh water” OR Freshwater OR Stream$ OR Water$ OR River$ OR Fluvial OR Lake$ OR Pond$ OR Wetland$ OR Estuar* OR Reservoir$ OR Canal$) AND (effect$ OR impact$ OR affect)) The da..., ,