Using road patrol data to identify factors associated with carnivore roadkill counts

Area of Science:

• Wildlife ecology
• Conservation biology
• Transportation ecology

Background:

• Expanding road networks increase wildlife-vehicle collisions and roadkill.
• Understanding roadkill distribution is crucial for effective mitigation strategies.
• Roadkill data collection is often costly and time-intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using road patrol data for roadkill research.
• To model factors influencing roadkill distribution using serval as a model species.
• To identify potential mitigation strategies for reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized daily roadkill data from 2014-2017 on a 410 km stretch of the N3 road in South Africa.
• Modeled the relationship between environmental and anthropogenic variables and serval roadkill.
• Recorded serval roadkill carcasses at a rate of 5.24 per 100 km/year.

Main Results:

• Serval roadkill numbers correlated with season, wetland presence, and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index).
• No significant relationship was found between serval roadkill and the anthropogenic variables studied.
• Data collection via road patrol staff proved feasible.

Conclusions:

• Roadkill patterns are species-specific and influenced by ecological factors.
• Targeting mitigation in areas near wetlands may reduce serval roadkill.
• Collaboration with road agencies is a valuable method for collecting roadkill data and informing conservation efforts.