Reduced predation on roadside nests can compensate for road mortality in road‐adjacent turtle populations

Turtles are killed on roads, yet there is little evidence of negative road effects their abundances. We hypothesized that this could be due to reduced predation turtle nests laid along roadsides, which compensate for the higher adult mortality populations near roads. To test this, we quantified relative differences in artificial painted (Chrysemys picta) and far from a field experiment controlling potentially confounding between sites. The tested predictions (1) nest rates lower roadside than nonroadside nests, (2) linearly placed clumped (3) roadside, any other road-adjacency configuration combinations. then estimated how much roadkill compensated by using population viability analysis (PVA). Linearly had 26% rate nonroad “natural” (clumped) configuration. This result, combined PVA with life-history information turtles, led an estimate approximately 3%–6% annual can suggests compensation via release plausible explanation previously documented lack abundance. These results highlight importance considering species interactions when evaluating roads wildlife populations.