Wildlife roadkill hotspots on roads crossing Conservation Units in the State of Sergipe, Brazil

Abstract Roadkill of wild animals is a significant threat to biodiversity in Brazil, causing numerous animal deaths annually. This study aimed to identify the main locations of roadkill of wild animals on two highways that pass through Conservation Units in the state of Sergipe, Brazil, examining th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: D. A. S. Bomfim, C. M. Melo, R. R. Madi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Instituto Internacional de Ecologia 2025-02-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-69842024000101384&lng=en&tlng=en
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850189557624995840
author D. A. S. Bomfim
C. M. Melo
R. R. Madi
author_facet D. A. S. Bomfim
C. M. Melo
R. R. Madi
author_sort D. A. S. Bomfim
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Roadkill of wild animals is a significant threat to biodiversity in Brazil, causing numerous animal deaths annually. This study aimed to identify the main locations of roadkill of wild animals on two highways that pass through Conservation Units in the state of Sergipe, Brazil, examining the correlation between roadkill and dry and rainy seasons. From November 2021 to October 2022, 49 surveys were carried out along BR-235, near Serra de Itabaiana National Park, and on the Adil Dantas do Amor Cardoso highway (ADAC), crossing the Mata do Crasto Private Natural Heritage Reserve. The campaigns were carried out on motorcycles, traveling at a speed between 20 and 60 km/h. To identify roadkill points for each highway, Kernel density estimation and species accumulation curves with area extrapolation (Bootstrap) were used, and mortality rates, the 2D K-Ripley test to test the randomness of roadkills and Shannon's diversity index (H'). On BR-235, 63 roadkills were recorded and an average mortality rate of 0.0652 individuals/Km/day, while on the Adil Dantas do Amor Cardoso highway, which has implemented mitigating measures, 15 occurrences were recorded with an average mortality rate of 0.1430 individuals/Km/day. Attraction points generated by the presence of improperly discarded carcasses on BR-235 were also identified. Although not significant, the BR-235 highway showed a positive correlation between precipitation and the frequency of roadkill (rs=0.1426, p=0.5851), while ADAC showed a negative correlation for the same variables (rs=-0.1749, p=0.5675). Understanding the patterns of roadkill and the needs of highways is essential for the development of effective strategies and the establishment of effective mitigation measures, thus minimizing the negative impacts of highways on biodiversity.
format Article
id doaj-art-68efe97b472944d9aca7a3adbf41c2b8
institution OA Journals
issn 1678-4375
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Instituto Internacional de Ecologia
record_format Article
series Brazilian Journal of Biology
spelling doaj-art-68efe97b472944d9aca7a3adbf41c2b82025-08-20T02:15:34ZengInstituto Internacional de EcologiaBrazilian Journal of Biology1678-43752025-02-018410.1590/1519-6984.284807Wildlife roadkill hotspots on roads crossing Conservation Units in the State of Sergipe, BrazilD. A. S. Bomfimhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6262-4140C. M. Melohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9331-003XR. R. Madihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1526-0687Abstract Roadkill of wild animals is a significant threat to biodiversity in Brazil, causing numerous animal deaths annually. This study aimed to identify the main locations of roadkill of wild animals on two highways that pass through Conservation Units in the state of Sergipe, Brazil, examining the correlation between roadkill and dry and rainy seasons. From November 2021 to October 2022, 49 surveys were carried out along BR-235, near Serra de Itabaiana National Park, and on the Adil Dantas do Amor Cardoso highway (ADAC), crossing the Mata do Crasto Private Natural Heritage Reserve. The campaigns were carried out on motorcycles, traveling at a speed between 20 and 60 km/h. To identify roadkill points for each highway, Kernel density estimation and species accumulation curves with area extrapolation (Bootstrap) were used, and mortality rates, the 2D K-Ripley test to test the randomness of roadkills and Shannon's diversity index (H'). On BR-235, 63 roadkills were recorded and an average mortality rate of 0.0652 individuals/Km/day, while on the Adil Dantas do Amor Cardoso highway, which has implemented mitigating measures, 15 occurrences were recorded with an average mortality rate of 0.1430 individuals/Km/day. Attraction points generated by the presence of improperly discarded carcasses on BR-235 were also identified. Although not significant, the BR-235 highway showed a positive correlation between precipitation and the frequency of roadkill (rs=0.1426, p=0.5851), while ADAC showed a negative correlation for the same variables (rs=-0.1749, p=0.5675). Understanding the patterns of roadkill and the needs of highways is essential for the development of effective strategies and the establishment of effective mitigation measures, thus minimizing the negative impacts of highways on biodiversity.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-69842024000101384&lng=en&tlng=enAtlantic Forestattractivenessbiodiversitymitigating measuresprotected area
spellingShingle D. A. S. Bomfim
C. M. Melo
R. R. Madi
Wildlife roadkill hotspots on roads crossing Conservation Units in the State of Sergipe, Brazil
Brazilian Journal of Biology
Atlantic Forest
attractiveness
biodiversity
mitigating measures
protected area
title Wildlife roadkill hotspots on roads crossing Conservation Units in the State of Sergipe, Brazil
title_full Wildlife roadkill hotspots on roads crossing Conservation Units in the State of Sergipe, Brazil
title_fullStr Wildlife roadkill hotspots on roads crossing Conservation Units in the State of Sergipe, Brazil
title_full_unstemmed Wildlife roadkill hotspots on roads crossing Conservation Units in the State of Sergipe, Brazil
title_short Wildlife roadkill hotspots on roads crossing Conservation Units in the State of Sergipe, Brazil
title_sort wildlife roadkill hotspots on roads crossing conservation units in the state of sergipe brazil
topic Atlantic Forest
attractiveness
biodiversity
mitigating measures
protected area
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-69842024000101384&lng=en&tlng=en
work_keys_str_mv AT dasbomfim wildliferoadkillhotspotsonroadscrossingconservationunitsinthestateofsergipebrazil
AT cmmelo wildliferoadkillhotspotsonroadscrossingconservationunitsinthestateofsergipebrazil
AT rrmadi wildliferoadkillhotspotsonroadscrossingconservationunitsinthestateofsergipebrazil