Toads in the hole: Designing new gulley pots to reduce environmental impacts of road infrastructure on amphibians

这项工程计划建议利用两栖动物习性和排水系统工程方面的专业知识，发展一种新的集水沟设计，以解决偶然捕获小型动物（主要是普通蟾蜍）的问题，这些动物落入排水系统，被困并死亡。这被认为是导致英国普通蟾蜍数量普遍下降的一个原因。通过我们的行业合作伙伴链接，我们将能够在实验室中设计新的原型（优化液压效率和两栖逃生），并在SWTRA（行业合作伙伴）确定和管理的现场进行现场测试。只有在满足了使两栖动物逃生和保持结构完整性和功能效率的共同目标后，新的集水沟才会进行实地试验。由于威尔士的气候变化预测预计会增加地表水流量，因此我们的设计对于在不影响动物福利或保护的情况下解决这一中长期问题至关重要。此外，我们的目标是设计两个完整的集水沟，可以推出整个南威尔士州，并最终在英国，和集水沟插入，可以提供一个更便宜和即时的选择，而现有的集水沟盆的基本结构保持不变（在更换是理想的）。这将有助于确保项目的即时和长期现实影响。

This project proposes to capitalise on the combined expertise in amphibian behaviour and engineering of drainage systems to develop a new gully pot design to address the problem of incidental trapping of small animals, primarily common toads, which fall into the drainage systems, get trapped and die. This has been implicated as a contributing cause to widespread population declines of UK common toads. Using our industry partner links we will be able to both design new prototypes in the lab (optimising hydraulic efficiency and amphibian escape) and field test them at sites identified and managed by SWTRA (industry partner). The new gullies will be field trialled only after the joint aims of enabling amphibian escape and maintaining structural integrity and functional efficiency are met. Because climate change predictions in Wales are expected to increase surface water flows, our designs will be important at combatting this middle- to long-term problem without compromising animal welfare or conservation. Moreover, we aim to design both complete gullies that can be rolled out across South Wales and eventually the UK, and gully inserts which can present a cheaper and immediate-term option while the basic structure of existing gully pots remains intact (before replacement is desired). This will help ensure both immediate and long-term real-world impacts of the project.