Do the roadkills of different mammal species respond the same way to habitat and matrix?

Abstract

While road network expansion connects human settlements between themselves, it also leads to deforestation and land use changes, reducing the connectivity between natural habitat patches, and increasing roadkill risk. More than 30% of registered mammal roadkills in Brazil are concentrated in four species: Cerdocyon thous (crab-eating fox); Euphractus sexcinctus (six-banded armadillo); Tamandua tetradactyla (collared anteater) and Myrmecophaga tridactyla (giant anteater), the latter being categorized as vulnerable by IUCN redlist. Our aim was to understand how these animals’ roadkills could be related to the land use proportions on landscapes all over the Brazilian territory, and investigate if the roadkill patterns differ among species. We collected secondary data on mammal roadkills (N = 2698) from several studies in different regions of Brazil. Using MapBiomas’ data on land use and land cover, we extracted landscape composition around each roadkill sample. Through the proportion of land use and land cover in the area of influence where the roadkill occurred, we built binomial GLM models and selected the best ones by Akaike Information Criteria. For crab-eating fox and the six-banded armadillo, the best models include matrix coverage resulting in increased roadkill risk, while both anteaters’ species have a habitat and a matrix component in their best models, with an interaction between the variables. These four species seem to be roadkilled in different landscape arrangements, but in all scenarios, anthropic areas had an important influence over the models. For habitat-dependent and more sensible species, such as Tamandua tetradactyla and Myrmecophaga tridactyla, the amount of matrix influencing the roadkill risk depends on habitat availability in the landscape. It changes the strength and direction of the effect according to the proportion of natural areas in the region, while with generalist species such as Cerdocyon thous and Euphractus sexcinctus, the quantity of human-modified coverage increases the risk.

The influence of proximity with riparian forests and the distance from urban areas on roadkills of vertebrates in a fragmented Brazilian savanna area

“…The current proportion of natural areas (cerrado + riparian forest) in the municipality of Três Lagoas‐MS (only 17%) is far below the 40% threshold recommended in the literature to conserve forests in modified areas (Arroyo‐Rodríguez et al, 2020). Consequently, ecological functions loss may occur (Coelho et al, 2020; Fahrig, 2003; Muylaert et al, 2016), which potentially affects the percolation of species through habitats (Andrén, 1994; Awade & Metzger, 2008; Cirino et al, 2022; Robertson & Radford, 2009).…”

A influência da proximidade com as matas ciliares e a distância das áreas urbanas nos atropelamentos de vertebrados em uma área fragmentada do Cerrado brasileiro

“…A proporção atual de áreas naturais (cerrado + mata ciliar) no município de Três Lagoas-MS (apenas 17%) está muito abaixo do limite de 40% recomendado na literatura para conservar florestas em áreas modificadas (Arroyo-Rodríguez et al, 2020). Consequentemente, pode ocorrer perda de funções ecológicas (Coelho et al, 2020;Fahrig, 2003;Muylaert et al, 2016), o que potencialmente afeta o trânsito de espécies pelos habitats (Andrén, 1994;Awade & Metzger, 2008;Cirino et al, 2022;Robertson & Radford, 2009). Um ponto de discussão relevante sobre a análise de dados é a possível influência do deslocamento temporal entre os dados de atropelamentos (2016-2018) e o mapa de uso e cobertura da terra (2007).…”

“…Mesmo em uma paisagem mais úmida e de floresta, como a Mata Atlântica, a relação entre atropelamentos de vertebrados e características da paisagem mostrou a relevância da proximidade de rios e da cobertura de vegetação herbácea (Bueno et al, 2015). Considerando todo o território brasileiro, Cirino et al (2022) mostraram que, para espécies dependentes do habitat e mais sensíveis, como Tamandua tetradactyla e Myrmecophaga tridactyla , a quantidade de matriz (agricultura ou pastagem) influencia o risco de atropelamento em paisagens com menos habitat disponível (savana ou floresta). Para espécies generalistas, como Cerdocyon thous e Euphractus sexcinctus , a cobertura da matriz (agricultura, pastagem ou floresta) aumenta o risco de atropelamento.…”

“…Vários estudos recentes evidenciaram que o contexto da paisagem pode influenciar o risco de atropelamento de vertebrados (por exemplo, Ascensão et al, 2017; Barthelmess, 2014; Bueno et al, 2015; Cirino et al, 2022; Fabrizio et al, 2019; Freitas et al, 2015; Girardet et al, 2015; Plante et al, 2019). Na região central do Brasil, no Estado de Goiás (GO), Braz and França (2016) observaram maior taxa de atropelamento de anfíbios em trechos associados a fragmentos de floresta, enquanto observaram maior mortalidade de aves e répteis em espaços próximos a pastagens e campos, respectivamente.…”

Ecological Solutions for Linear Infrastructure Networks: The key to green infrastructure development

“…The roadkill of four mammal species were related with landscape use in Brazil. Generalist species such as the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) and the six-banded armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus), showed higher roadkill probabilities in human-modified regions; however, habitat specialist mammals, such as the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and the collared-anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla), showed higher roadkill risk with increasing fragmentation of forest or savanna areas, respectively (Cirino et al 2022). From India, Sur et al (2022) present the first patterns of vertebrate roadkill assessed in a National Park, demonstrating that roadkill rates were highest during the monsoon season, particularly for amphibians.…”