Habitat or matrix: which is more relevant to predict road-kill of vertebrates?

Abstract

We believe that in tropics we need a community approach to evaluate road impacts on wildlife, and thus, suggest mitigation measures for groups of species instead a focal-species approach. Understanding which landscape characteristics indicate road-kill events may also provide models that can be applied in other regions. We intend to evaluate if habitat or matrix is more relevant to predict road-kill events for a group of species. Our hypothesis is: more permeable matrix is the most relevant factor to explain road-kill events. To test this hypothesis, we chose vertebrates as the studied assemblage and a highway crossing in an Atlantic Forest region in southeastern Brazil as the study site. Logistic regression models were designed using presence/absence of road-kill events as dependent variables and landscape characteristics as independent variables, which were selected by Akaike's Information Criterion. We considered a set of candidate models containing four types of simple regression models: Habitat effect model; Matrix types effect models; Highway effect model; and, Reference models (intercept and buffer distance). Almost three hundred road-kills and 70 species were recorded. River proximity and herbaceous vegetation cover, both matrix effect models, were associated to most road-killed vertebrate groups. Matrix was more relevant than habitat to predict road-kill of vertebrates. The association between river proximity and road-kill indicates that rivers may be a preferential route for most species. We discuss multi-species mitigation measures and implications to movement ecology and conservation strategies.Keywords: connectivity, conservation, landscape ecology, rivers, road ecology.Habitat ou matriz: qual é mais relevante para prever atropelamentos de vertebrados? ResumoNós acreditamos que nos trópicos, precisamos de uma abordagem de comunidade para avaliar os impactos das estradas sobre a vida silvestre, e então, sugerir medidas de mitigação para grupos de espécies ao invés da abordagem de espécie-foco. Compreender quais características da paisagem indicam eventos de atropelamento podem também fornecer modelos que podem ser aplicados em outras regiões. Nós pretendemos avaliar se habitat ou matriz é mais relevante para prever eventos de atropelamento para grupos de espécies. Nossa hipótese é: matriz mais permeável é o fator mais relevante para explicar os eventos de atropelamentos. Para testar essa hipótese, escolhemos vertebrados como a assembléia estudada e uma rodovia cruzando uma região de Mata Atlântica no sudeste do Brasil como área de estudo. Modelos de regressão logística foram criados usando presença/ausência de eventos de atropelamentos como variáveis dependentes e características da paisagem como variáveis independentes, os quais foram selecionados pelo Critério de Informação de Akaike. Nós consideramos um conjunto de modelos candidatos contendo quatro tipos de modelos de regressão simples: modelo de efeito de habitat; modelos de efeito de tipos de matriz; modelo de efeito da rodovia; e, mode...

Effects of roads on the vertebrates diversity of the Indigenous Territory Paresi and its surrounding

“…The landscape of highway MT-358 is mainly composed of pastures; however, the heterogeneous distribution of the roadkills is due to the concentration of a higher rate of roadkills near rivers, streams, and fragments of forest, similar patterns were found by (Bueno et al, 2015). These areas are legally protected, and are the last refuges for the animal community, as described by Brocardo and Candido-Junior (2012) concerning fragments of mixed ombrophilus forests in the state of Paraná, Brazil.…”

Short and Narrow Roads Cause Substantial Impacts on Wildlife

“…These areas are especially important for semi-aquatic species such as H. hydrochaeris and L. longicaudis, and for Myocastor coypus (Rodentia, Myocastoridae) and Lutreolina crassicaudata (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae), which are known to occur in the study area (Bovo et al 2018). Cáceres et al (2011), Cáceres et al (2012, Bueno et al (2013), Huijser et al (2013) and Bueno et al (2015) found a high number of H. hydrochaeris roadkilled close to water streams. In addition, other mammals inhabiting these areas, in particular those with large home ranges, need to move between forest remnants to fulfil dietary, territorial and reproductive requirements, and can thus not function in small isolated habitat fragments (Lyra-Jorge et al 2010, Dotta & Verdade 2011, Miotto et al 2011, Miotto et al 2012, Magioli et al 2016.…”

“…In the study area, these corridors are the only structural and possibly also functional connectivity remaining. Freitas et al (2015), Bueno et al (2013) and Bueno et al (2015) found that proximity to rivers best explained most of the roadkill occurrence, suggesting that these areas are a mitigation priority. Cáceres et al (2012) also pointed out the importance of riparian forests for species crossing, which can result in a higher incidence of roadkills when these forest fragments are bisected by roads.…”

Factors influencing the spatial patterns of vertebrate roadkill in South Africa: The Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area as a case study

“…We generated predictive models of roadkill from one combined data set (Braz & França, ; Bueno, Sousa, & Freitas, ). Most published literature for predictive roadkill modelling target specific taxonomic groups (amphibians, Coelho, Teixeira, Colombo, Coelho, & Kindel, ; reptiles, Mackinnon, Moore, & Brooks, , Langen et al, ; birds, Clevenger et al, , Gomes, Grilo, Silva, & Mira, ; mammals, Clevenger et al, , de Freitas, Oliveira, Ciocheti, Vieira, & Silva Matos, ).…”