Filling biogeographical gaps through wildlife roadkills: New distribution records for six snake species from Ecuador (<i>Anilius scytale, Drymarchon corais, Erythrolamprus breviceps, Micrurus lemniscatus, Oxyrhopus vanidicus</i>, <i>Trilepida anthracina</i>)

Medrano-Vizcaíno, Pablo; Brito‐Zapata, David

doi:10.1080/23766808.2021.2010469

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…For example, some species were reported outside their known distribution ranges in Ecuador: Neacomys amoneus, Mesoclemmys heliostemma, Myrmochanes hemileucus, Pseudocolopteryx acutipennis, Rhogeessa io, Scinax ruber, and Xenoxybelis argenteus , and even one species that is assumed to be not distributed in Ecuador was reported ( Rhinella arenarum ). These may be misidentifications (likely for R. arenarum ), but previous roadkilled specimens have revealed new distribution areas for certain species (Medrano‐Vizcaíno & Brito‐Zapata, 2021 ). Roadkill records can provide valuable information about the biology and ecology of species, and with correct taxonomic identification, can contribute to our understanding of biodiversity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First national assessment of wildlife mortality in Ecuador: An effort from citizens and academia to collect roadkill data at country scale

Medrano-Vizcaíno

Brito‐Zapata

Rueda‐Vera

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Ecuador has both high richness and high endemism, which are increasingly threatened by anthropic pressures, including roads. Research evaluating the effects of roads remains scarce, making it difficult to develop mitigation plans. Here, we present the first national assessment of wildlife mortality on roads that allow us to (1) estimate roadkill rates per species, (2) identify affected species and areas, and (3) reveal knowledge gaps. We bring together data from systematic surveys and citizen science efforts to present a dataset with 5010 wildlife roadkill records from 392 species, and we also provide 333 standardized corrected roadkill rates calculated on 242 species. Systematic surveys were reported by ten studies from five Ecuadorian provinces, revealing 242 species with corrected roadkill rates ranging from 0.03 to 171.72 ind./km/year. The highest rates were for the yellow warbler Setophaga petechia in Galapagos (171.72 ind./km/year), the cane toad Rhinella marina in Manabi (110.70 ind./km/year), and the Galapagos lava lizard Microlophus albemarlensis (47.17 ind./km/year). Citizen science and other nonsystematic monitoring provided 1705 roadkill records representing all 24 provinces in Ecuador and 262 identified species. The common opossum Didelphis marsupialis, the Andean white-eared opossum Didelphis pernigra, and the yellow warbler Setophaga petechia were more commonly reported (250, 104, and 81 individuals, respectively). Across all sources, we found 15 species listed as "Threatened" and six as "Data Deficient" by the IUCN. We recommend stronger research efforts in areas where the mortality of endemic or threatened species could be critical for populations, such as in Galapagos. This first country-wide assessment of wildlife mortality on Ecuadorian roads represents contributions from academia, members of the public, and government, underlining the value of wider engagement and collaboration. We hope these findings and the compiled dataset will guide sensible driving and sustainable planning of infrastructure in Ecuador and, ultimately, contribute to reduce wildlife mortality on roads.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Species listed as threatened or data deficient by the IUCN Red List or not yet unassessed, which were reported as roadkill by citizen scientists and in nonsystematic studies in Ecuador. We provide species name, IUCN Red List status, and the number of roadkill records Brito-Zapata, 2021)…”

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confidence: 99%

First national assessment of wildlife mortality in Ecuador: An effort from citizens and academia to collect roadkill data at country scale

Medrano-Vizcaíno

Brito‐Zapata

Rueda‐Vera

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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“…For example, the western mountain coati Nasuella olivacea , considered the least-studied carnivore of the world (Helgen et al, 2009), was the second most roadkilled species in a study in Colombia (Delgado-V, 2007). Specimens collected as roadkill can contribute to understand the biology of organisms that can be difficult to study, making roadkill assessment valuable beyond the estimate of threats (Medrano-Vizcaíno & Brito-Zapata, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research and conservation priorities to protect wildlife from collisions with vehicles

Medrano-Vizcaíno

Grilo

González‐Suárez

2022

Preprint

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The rapidly expanding global road network poses threats to wildlife, including direct mortality. Given limited knowledge and resources, strategic allocation is critical. We introduce a method to identify priority areas and taxa to study and protect affected by vehicle collisions using Latin America as a case study. In this region high biodiversity and an expanding road network can result in high impacts from roads, yet emerging research expertise offers opportunities for action. To identify priority targets we combined predicted spatially-explicit roadkill rates for birds and mammals with information about the current road network and species conservation status. Priority areas for conservation (with many species susceptible to roadkill but few or inexistent roads) were largely concentrated in the Amazon; while priority areas for research (unstudied regions with many roads and many species susceptible to roadkill) occur in various areas from Southern Mexico to Chile. Priority taxa for conservation reflected studied, roadkill-susceptible groups (eg, vultures and armadillos), while priority taxa for research were defined as either poorly-studied roadkill-susceptible groups or unstudied groups of conservation concern (eg, cuckoos and shrew opossums). Our approach offers a tool that could be applied to other areas and taxa to facilitate a more strategic allocation of resources in conservation and research in road ecology.

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Landscape and road features linked to wildlife mortality in the Amazon

Medrano-Vizcaíno,

Grilo,

Brito-Zapata

et al. 2023

Biodivers Conserv

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Roads impact wildlife around the world; however, dedicated studies are lacking in many biodiverse areas such as the Amazon. Identifying which species are more often hit by vehicles and which landscape and road-related features promote roadkill is essential to guide future development and ensure adequate mitigation actions. For six months, we monitored 240 km of roads in the Ecuadorian Amazon and recorded 1125 dead vertebrates (149 species). Reptiles were the most observed Class with 380 individuals (56 species), followed by amphibians with 278 individuals (11 species), birds with 259 individuals (62 species), and mammals with 208 individuals (20 species). We used Random Forest models to explore the role of various land cover types and road sinuosity on the observed mortality. Additionally, we created heatmaps to visualize the road segments where roadkills were more frequent. For all vertebrates, mortality was more likely in straight road sections near rivers. The effects of other variables were taxa-specific. Amphibian mortality was more likely near bare soil or forest, birds and mammals died more often near herbaceous-shrubby vegetation, and reptile mortality occurred more often in areas with high cover of agriculture. Road segments with high mortality (i.e., roadkill hotspots) varied across taxa. These hotspots identify areas where further research into mitigation is needed to assess road impacts and prevent collisions. Among records, we found rare and threatened species, for which road mortality could be a significant threat. Roadkill surveys not only aid in quantifying threats and informing future planning but can also provide insight into local biodiversity.

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Filling biogeographical gaps through wildlife roadkills: New distribution records for six snake species from Ecuador (Anilius scytale, Drymarchon corais, Erythrolamprus breviceps, Micrurus lemniscatus, Oxyrhopus vanidicus, Trilepida anthracina)

Cited by 5 publications

References 20 publications

First national assessment of wildlife mortality in Ecuador: An effort from citizens and academia to collect roadkill data at country scale

First national assessment of wildlife mortality in Ecuador: An effort from citizens and academia to collect roadkill data at country scale

Research and conservation priorities to protect wildlife from collisions with vehicles

Landscape and road features linked to wildlife mortality in the Amazon

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