Entendendo fatores que influenciam o atropelamento de Fauna em uma área protegida na Floresta Amazônica

Abstract

Vertebrate’s roadkill constitutes an important impact in natural areas. However, data on this topic in the Amazon domain are still scarce, especially within protected areas. In this study, we analyzed data from two years of monitoring amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds that were run over in five types of traffic routes (highway, railroad, urban area, paved roads, and dirt roads) in a conservation unit in the Brazilian Amazon. We tested which vertebrate classes and feeding guilds were most affected, besides the influence of seasonality and the spatial pattern of roadkill. In the studied area, 2,795 roadkills were registered, with amphibians being the most registered. Most roadkills occurred during the rainy season. Correcting the roadkill data using observer efficiency data and carcass permanence time based on data from the literature, we conclude that mortality rates may be underestimated by up to 40 times when compared to the raw data. There was no significant difference between the feeding guilds in terms of fatalities, and rainfall and temperature had a significant effect on road kills of all classes of vertebrates. The spatial pattern of roadkills varied between the types of traffic routes and the class of vertebrates. The results indicate that amphibians are the most impacted by roadkill, although they are neglected in many monitoring of traffic routes. Mitigation measures for this type of impact should take into account times when the highest number of deaths occur since rainfall and temperature influence this type of accident, that is, pedestrian accidents decrease as the temperature increases and rainfall decreases. Likewise, different classes of vertebrates have different impact concentration patterns along traffic routes, which makes mitigation planning more complex. Therefore, planning to reduce vertebrate deaths by roadkill must take into account the particularity of each taxon.