Title
Roadkill rate of snakes in a disturbed landscape of Central Andes of Colombia
Author(s)
Quintero-Ángel, A.;Osorio-Dominguez, D.;Vargas-Salinas, F.;Saavedra-Rodríguez, C.A.
Published
2012
Publisher
Herpetology Notes
Abstract
Animal causalities are among the more generalized and conspicuous ecological effects of roads. We estimated vertebrate
mortality during July-August 2006 and January-March 2007 in a 6.4 km stretch of road located in Central Andes of Colombia.
We recorded 117 vertebrates dead on the road (105 snakes, 4 birds, 7 amphibians, and one mammal). Snake roadkill rate was 78,8
individuals/km/year which, is higher than estimates in other studies. The species that exhibited greater mortality was Atractus cf
melanogaster (72 individuals) followed by Liophis epinephelus (12 individuals). Recording roadkill rates in Colombia Andes
can offer baseline data to increase the general knowledge of the variability of road effects in tropical landscapes, and eventually
optimize management strategies.
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PUB14545