Abstract
Roads directly or indirectly affect the structure, dynamics and function of ecosystems that they traverse. Most studies on the effect of roads on wildlife focus on the evaluation of mortality of vertebrates by vehicle collisions. Despite the extensive road network that exists in Venezuela, studies of wildlife mortality in them are scarce. In this paper, we analyzed the temporal and spatial pattern of vertebrate's collisions along the road Guanare-Guanarito, in Portuguesa state. We travelled 26 times between these towns (74 km) to localize dead vertebrates, at a speed of 50-60km/h. of those trips were conducted from March 13 to October 26, 2010, and 10 additional trips from December 7, 2009 to December 14, 2010; these ones, with the aim to include months and seasons that were insufficiently sampled during the first period. The elapsed time between trips varied from 14 to 37 days. The total distance traveled was 1 924 km. Dead animals found amounted 464 individuals, 66 of them were birds (25 identified species), 130 mammals (15 species) and 268 reptiles (18 species). The species with the highest number of individuals were the snake Leptodeira annulata (n=119), the oppossum Didelphis marsupialis (n=39) and the spectacled caiman Caiman crocodilus (n=33). Excluding domestic animals, the rate of road-killed vertebrates was 0.2282 indiv./km, a figure 28.3% higher than previous studies in the same road. Changes in the relative number of collisions for some species, respect to the numbers reported 20 years ago, were linked to the increase in traffic flow and changes in land use. Road segments with collision rates higher than expected by chance were identified. Collition by cars may be the principal cause of mortality for species like the tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) and the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), the last considered a vulnerable species. Some basic measures are proposed to reduce wildlife mortality on the road.
Highlights
Las carreteras y autopistas causan un impacto en los hábitats y ecosistemas que no se circunscribe exclusivamente al espacio directamente afectado en el momento que son construidas
La carretera es por lo general recta con algunos sectores de curvas moderadas
Cricetidae no identificado Sciurus granatensis Molossidae no identificado Noctilio leporinus Phyllostomus hastatus Canis familiaris Cerdocyon thous Felis catus Leopardus pardalis Puma yagouaroundi Conepatus semistriatus Eira barbara Galictis vittata Procyon cancrivorus
Summary
Área de estudio: La carretera estudiada se localiza en el estado Portuguesa, Venezuela, y une en sus extremos a las capitales de los municipios Guanare (157 470 habitantes) y Guanarito (25 109 habitantes), pero la mayor parte de su trayectoria (72%) transcurre a través del Municipio Papelón (13 090 habitantes) (Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Región Centro Occidental [FUDECO], 2004). Se realizaron comparaciones con otro estudio previo llevado a cabo en el área de estudio entre 1980 y 1982 (Ramo & Busto, 1986), aunque con ciertas limitaciones, ya que estos autores no separaron los datos recolectados en la carretera Guanare-Guanarito de los tomados entre Guanare y Bruzual; tampoco indicaron para todas las especies el número de individuos localizados. Hubo mayor incidencia de atropellos por tramo entre Guanare y la Alcabala de Papelón (sitio intermedio entre los extremos de la carretera estudiada), que desde dicho punto hasta Guanarito (Kruskall-Wallis, χ2=5.36, p=0.021). CUADRO 1 Porcentajes de cobertura del suelo en franjas de 5km y 100m a cada lado de la carretera Guanare-Guanarito, así como en radios de 100m alrededor de todos lugares de atropello de los individuos para cada grupo vertebrado y de 100 puntos tomados al azar
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