Are Roadkill Hotspots in the Cerrado Equal Among Groups of Vertebrates?

Abstract

Understand the spatial distribution of wildlife roadkill is necessary to design mitigation measures minimizing damage to the fauna and the human population. Thus, we aimed to analyze the spatial distribution of wildlife roadkill in the Brazilian savanna ("Cerrado") to test whether roadkill hotspots match between the studied animal groups. We collected data of wildlife roadkill over a year in the southwest region of the state of Goiás, Brazil. To understand the distribution of roadkill on highways and to identify the aggregation hotspots, we used the modified two-dimensional Ripley K test and the two-dimensional hotspot identification analysis. We detected that birds and mammals have different aggregation points. These points may vary when the two groups are analyzed together or when species with greater abundance are removed from the analyses. Hence, we concluded that using generalist approaches including several species, are not enough, and can lead to erroneous conclusions. Therefore, it is necessary that the analyses be done in groups.

Keywords: Biodiversity; Landscape; Local extinction; Road ecology; Savanna.