Spatial variation of mammal road kills in a restinga area in Espírito Santo State, southeast Brazil

Abstract

Millions of wild animals die run over every year in Brazil. Various taxonomic groups are affected, including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. However, few studies have quantified and identified which animals are the most vulnerable. This work aims to describe the abundance, the species composition and the richness of mammal road kills over a road stretch, in southeast Brazil. It was also assessed if there is any difference in the number of road kills between the rainy and the dry seasons, and the spatial distribution of collisions along the highway. The road kills were recorded over four years and 10 months. A total of 258 individuals belonging to 22 species, 13 families and 7 orders were recorded. The most recorded species were Didelphis aurita, Cerdocyon thous and Procyon cancrivorus. There was no significant difference in the mortality of mammals between the rainy and the dry seasons. Three stretches, with 86, 32 and 31 records, had the highest numbers of road kills. In these places the highway borders or crosses conservation units and forest fragments that are not legally protected. The high number of road kills between km 40 and 50 is probably due to the existence of concrete barriers that separate highway strips.

Keywords: roads, mammals, mortality.