Vertebrates road-killed in Tambogrande, Piura, Peru

Abstract

Among the negative impacts on biodiversity caused by road works, such as road and highways, are the killed caused by collisions with vehicles. In this study, the mortality of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals by collision with vehicles is determined, on three roads that converge in the Tambogrande district (Piura in northern Peru), and the places with the highest incidence are established. Observations were between January and June of 2018 with a frequency of 24 trips once a week between the hours of 7.00 and 14.00. The trips were taken on a motorcycle at 25 km/h. Geographical coordinates of the point of collisions were recorded. The vertebrates mortality in transects lines was analyzed using the Kilometric Abundance Index (KAI). High incidence places were determined with a Kernel Density Analysis. 437 animals were found dead corresponding to 29 species. The animal group most affected was mammals followed by birds, reptiles and amphibians in that order. The mean KAI was 0.2 (95% CI 0.1 – 0.3) N° of incidences/km. We determinate 24 points of high incidence, they were close to each other. Based in our results, we propose to build eight animal crossing structures for vertebrates complemented with appropriate transit signals.