Inhabiting nearby roads: an analysis of the relationship between the roadkilled mammals and their occurrence close to a highway in Southern Brazil

Abstract

The proximity to roads can change the richness, species composition and the abundance of individuals in the biological communities. Similarly, the number of individuals and the roadkilled species are influenced by the dynamics in the community around roads. The main goal of the study was to determine which species of medium and large-size mammals are more susceptible to roadkill and possible relationships with their ecological traits. The study was developed at the southern limit of the distribution of the Atlantic Forest, southern Brazil. Data collection was carried out for one year, from July 2018 to June 2019. We collected data about the richness and abundance of medium and large roadkilled mammals and in the forest fragments around BR153 road. We recorded a total of 15 species of medium and large-size mammals. The number of roadkills seems to reflect the number of records in the surrounding area, although it is not mandatory. The number of roadkills seems to be associated with a set of factors that increase the possibility of collision with vehicles. The ecological traits by themselves do not indicate an elevated chance of roadkill. The main factors that increase the chances of roadkill in the studied region are broad habitat use and the abundance in the surrounding areas. The ecological traits that decrease the likelihood of roadkills are related to the restricted use of forest fragments. Our data indicate that the capacity to move and occupy different environments, mainly associated with high abundance, increases the probability of roadkills.