Ecologia de estradas: impacto das rodovias na fauna de vertebrados do município de Santa Helena, PR

Abstract

This study aimed to verify the impact of roads in vertebrate fauna of the municipality of Santa Helena, PR, mapping the location of the carcasses and identifying them taxonomically. We biweekly recorded all vertebrate carcasses found on PR495 (17.2 km), PR488 (35.2 km) and PR317 (5.1 km) in the period from March 2017 to March 2018, totaling 1,552 km traveled. All carcasses were georeferenced, photographed for taxonomic identification by specialists. The carcasses were search using a motorcycle in average speed of 50 km/h, checking one side of the highway at a time. Were recorded 163 carcasses of vertebrates belonging to 33 species, 119 of wild animals, 42 domestic and two not identified due to the advanced state of decomposition. Were identified 103 carcasses of mammals, 42 of birds, 16 of reptiles and two of amphibians. The road with the highest incidence of dead animals was PR488 with 87 carcasses followed by PR495 with 71 and PR317 with five. December was the month with the highest incidence of road accidents and January and February the months with lowest incidence. A significant negative relation was found between pluviodity and number of carcasses. Didelphis aurita (Wied, 1826) was the species with the highest number of dead individuals (39). A carcass of Puma yagouaroundi (Geoffroy, 1803) (Felidae) was found, a species in a state of vulnerability to extinction at the national level. The results demonstrate the impact of highways on local vertebrate fauna, especially wild ones, and the need for strategies to reduce the death of animals on highways.