A forecasting map of avian roadkill-risk in Europe: A tool to identify potential hotspots

Morelli, Federico; Benedetti, Yanina; Delgado, Juan D.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108729

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…According to our data, reptiles are less affected than mammals and birds. The results indicated also that the Dunn's lark, and the northern wheatear in birds, and the lesser jerboa, the fat sand rat, and the Cape hare in mammals are highly influenced by road collisions in South Morocco, which is in agreement with results cited in Europe and the Canary Islands (the nearest regions to South Morocco) (Canal et al, 2019;Morelli et al, 2020;Tejera et al, 2018). The road collisions of mammals and birds are perhaps associated with their high local abundance and/or nocturnal behaviour (Haigh et al, 2014;Tejera et al, 2018) major portion of mammals and birds (which are the most affected species) were killed mainly during the night.…”

Section: Impact Of Vehicle Collisions On Wildlifesupporting

confidence: 88%

Wildlife‐vehicle collisions in Moroccan Atlantic Sahara: Impact on resident species and Afro‐Palearctic birds for conservation purposes

Mansouri¹,

Dakki

Squalli³

et al. 2022

Afr J Ecol

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In this study, we described the temporal and spatial patterns of wildlife‐vehicle collisions in Dakhla‐Laayoune regions, using counts from cars for two years (2018–2021). A total of 462 roadkills were documented (monthly average of 0.075 roadkills/km), comprising 16 species, including mammals (residents), reptiles (residents), and birds (residents and migrants). Seasonal abundance and diversity of roadkills revealed a high peak during breeding and migration periods for all species. The generalised linear mixed models indicated that wildlife‐vehicle accidents have a higher probability of occurrence close to breeding and feeding sites and road sections with increased vegetation cover. Similarly, road collisions were higher close to migration routes and during breeding periods. Our study provides the first and only detailed results on wildlife road collisions in Morocco. Data gathered from this study provide valuable information for conservation measures of the most affected Moroccan species and Palearctic migrant birds which are crossing between Europe and Africa. Moreover, our data provide a new window of large‐scale comparative studies addressing the impacts of the infrastructures on biodiversity in the entire Atlantic coasts of Northwest Africa. Detailed studies on the local population dynamics of highly affected species are urgently needed to conclude whether these levels of road mortality are supportable.

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Section: Impact Of Vehicle Collisions On Wildlifesupporting

confidence: 88%

Wildlife‐vehicle collisions in Moroccan Atlantic Sahara: Impact on resident species and Afro‐Palearctic birds for conservation purposes

Mansouri¹,

Dakki

Squalli³

et al. 2022

Afr J Ecol

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“…Susceptibility also increases with body size (Dwyer et al, 2015), as electrocution occurs when a bird simultaneously touches two-phase conductors or one conductor and a ground wire device on a pole (Janss, 2000). Similar frameworks estimating risk as a combination of exposure and susceptibility have been previously proposed to address other impacts related to linear infrastructures, such as roadkills (Visintin, van der Ree & McCarthy, 2016;Morelli, Benedetti & Delgado, 2020) and collision with power lines (D'Amico et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk of bird electrocution in power lines: a framework for prioritizing species and areas for conservation and impact mitigation

Biasotto

Moreira

Bencke

et al. 2021

Animal Conservation

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Electrocution on power lines is an important human‐related cause of bird mortality and an important conservation issue worldwide. Besides impacts on bird populations, electrocutions cause power outages, resulting in damage to power line network integrity. However, there is a general lack of knowledge on the risk of bird electrocution, especially in developing countries. Generating information over large scales without resorting to local mortality data can be useful for the development of regional management strategies, particularly in countries where electrocution is poorly documented. Here, we developed a framework to model the risk of bird electrocution as an interaction between the species‐specific exposure to power lines (pole density within a species distribution range) and susceptibility (morphological and behavioral traits associated with electrocution hazards). We applied this framework to Brazil, identifying 283 species that face a risk of electrocution, of which 38 were classified as higher risk, mostly raptors (76%). The Pantanal (a large wetland biome) concentrates the greatest cumulative susceptibility due to the high number of species vulnerable to electrocution (i.e. large species using power lines for perching or nesting), while the Atlantic Forest region has a higher risk for electrocution, due to the spatial overlap between the presence of vulnerable species and high exposure to power lines. Furthermore, our study identified spatial patterns of bird electrocution, highlighting priority areas for electrocution susceptibility and electrocution risk to be further investigated, and where measures to mitigate bird electrocutions should be applied on new and existing power lines. Our framework allows a preliminary assessment aimed at identifying areas of higher risk of electrocution, to highlight species vulnerable to this threat and to improve power line routing. This approach can be replicated to other understudied areas of the world where the same information is available.

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“…However, roads and traffic stand as a major threat to biodiversity, leading to habitat fragmentation and degradation (Forman and Alexander, 1998; Maxwell et al, 2016; Van der Ree et al, 2015). Notably, the expansion of road networks and the associated increase in traffic drastically affects wildlife populations, primarily due to animal-vehicle collisions (Grilo et al, 2020; Morelli et al, 2020). In developed regions like Europe, where the density of roads rank among the highest globally, roads exert a considerable impact on wildlife.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Road density simplifies regional food webs

Mestre,

Bastazini,

Ascensao

2024

Preprint

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Roads and traffic stand as major threats to biodiversity, primarily due to roadkill, affecting the functioning of ecosystems and the provision of ecosystem services. Understanding how wildlife-vehicle collisions affects the dynamics of ecological interactions is essential to help manage human impacts on biodiversity, but such studies remain largely unexplored. We investigated the intricate relationship between roads, species vulnerability to roadkill, and the ensuing effects on food webs across Europe. Utilizing road density thresholds and trophic interaction data, we constructed regional food webs to assess the potential loss of trophic interactions due to roadkill. Our analysis, encompassing 551 species across three trophic levels, revealed spatially varied impacts, with areas surrounding major cities facing drastic trophic interaction losses exceeding 90%. Notably, 186 species faced significant risks of local extinction due to direct roadkill effects, while a similar number (190 species) encountered trophic interaction losses due to indirect effects (loss of prey or predator). Apex predators exhibited lower direct roadkill impacts while basal-level species are more exposed to direct effects, potentially triggering a cascade of interaction disruptions. Our findings underscore the necessity for tailored conservation measures to reduce roadkill risk, targeting different trophic levels, to preserve ecological network integrity amidst road development programs.

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A forecasting map of avian roadkill-risk in Europe: A tool to identify potential hotspots

Cited by 14 publications

References 55 publications

Wildlife‐vehicle collisions in Moroccan Atlantic Sahara: Impact on resident species and Afro‐Palearctic birds for conservation purposes

Wildlife‐vehicle collisions in Moroccan Atlantic Sahara: Impact on resident species and Afro‐Palearctic birds for conservation purposes

Risk of bird electrocution in power lines: a framework for prioritizing species and areas for conservation and impact mitigation

Road density simplifies regional food webs

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