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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 51(11)

Bird and mammal roadkill patterns and associated factors on a tropical mountain area: the Interamerican Highway, Cerro de la Muerte, Costa Rica

José F. González-Maya A B , Luis Sánchez-Arguedas C , Marisol Rodríguez Pacheco C , Diego R. Gutiérrez-Sanabria https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3642-0499 D , Lourdes Martínez-Estévez https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2496-4600 A * and Jan Schipper E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Proyecto de Conservación de Aguas y Tierras, ProCAT Colombia/Costa Rica, Coto Brus, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

B Área en Biología de la Conservación, Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, DCBS, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Lerma, Avenue de las Garzas 10, Colonia El Panteón, Lerma 52005, Estado de México, México.

C Área de Conservación La Amistad Pacífico, Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación, Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía, Barrio Villa Ligia, 100 metros Este y 100 metros Sur de la UNED, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica.

D Universidad de Pamplona, Km 1 Vía Bucaramanga Ciudad Universitaria, Pamplona, Norte de Santander, Colombia.

E School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, Arizona State University - West, Glendale, AZ 85306, USA.

* Correspondence to: lumartinezestevez@gmail.com

Handling Editor: Catarina Campos Ferreira

Wildlife Research 51, WR24029 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR24029
Submitted: 29 February 2024  Accepted: 4 November 2024  Published: 19 November 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

Habitat degradation caused by roads and wildlife–vehicle collisions are two of the main drivers of terrestrial vertebrate mortality. Spatial collision patterns are influenced by habitat and road characteristics and the species’ ecology and biology, including its life history. Costa Rica has a network of 10,000 km of paved roads; however, there is a knowledge gap on road ecology and its impact to wildlife. Understanding the interconnectedness of roadkill with spatial and temporal patterns is crucial to mitigate this threat in the country.

Aims

Here, we describe spatial and temporal patterns in bird and mammal–vehicle collisions on a 45 km section of the Interamerican Highway and identify the critical zones that require attention.

Methods

Surveys were conducted by car between Río Macho Forest Reserve and Los Santos Forest Reserve for a period of 8 months. We recorded bird and mammal individuals and road and landscape features in 100 m sections to identify collision hotspots. We used the road and landscape information to try to explain the hotspot segments using generalized linear models.

Key results

We found 148 carcasses that belonged to 16 species of bird and five species of mammal. There was no temporal pattern in frequency of collisions for both birds and mammals. We identified 34 collision hotspots, five for birds and 29 for mammals, and seven hotspots for both groups combined. Bird collision frequency was explained by the 150 m scale forest area, distance to rivers, and road sinuosity. Mammal collisions were not explained by the evaluated variables.

Conclusions

Roadkill of birds and mammals was influenced by biological traits and environmental factors. The identification of specific environmental factors and collision hotspots are an initial step on collision monitoring in the Talamanca mountain range in Costa Rica.

Implications

This research has increased our knowledge on some of the factors that influence roadkill frequencies and vulnerability of species. Our results identified segments on the Interamerican Highway where roadkill mitigation measures should be implemented. Our findings can also serve as a reference point to analyze other segments of the highway or other roads with similar features in the country.

Keywords: anthropogenic impacts, biodiversity, Central America, conservation, conservation planning, hotspot, vertebrates, wildlife-vehicle collision.

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