Roadkill of birds in Galapagos Islands: a growing need for solutions
A major step in the development of conservation measures would be to study and understand the sources of non-natural mortality in wild fauna. The implementation of such measures should be a priority in oceanic islands because biodiversity hotspots are concentrated in these locations. Furthermore, an...
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| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
Resilience Alliance
2020
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/0336eeea64ab47b58c52687bc25d4e60 |
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| Sumario: | A major step in the development of conservation measures would be to study and understand the sources of non-natural mortality in wild fauna. The implementation of such measures should be a priority in oceanic islands because biodiversity hotspots are concentrated in these locations. Furthermore, anthropogenic changes have a greater impact on island species than on their mainland relatives. This situation is of particular relevance in the Galápagos Archipelago, owing to its rapid population growth and the striking increase in the number of vehicles. The latter aspect is due to attempts by the tourist industry to stimulate the economy in this area. Thus, the environment and biota are under new pressures. There are few studies on the effects of wildlife roadkill in the Galápagos. We surveyed two stretches of a 13.8-km road in two different vegetation zones on the island of Santa Cruz. This island has the highest population and the greatest number of tourists in the archipelago. We determined the spatial patterns of bird roadkill using counts, which were conducted via bicycle rides. We recorded 168 carcasses comprising seven species (six native and one invasive). Roadkill did not occur at the same rate over the two stretches: it was significantly higher over Stretch 1, which had a greater volume of traffic. Neither were species equally distributed over the stretches. We identified a high-mortality black spot within Stretch 1 in an area in which high-speed traffic may have contributed strongly to roadkill. We also estimated the carcass disappearance rate to better determine the roadkill rate. Data on the disappearance rate could be of help in the design and implementation of future studies. This study presents the first data on the road mortality rate in the Galápagos Islands, finding that it is much higher than in other natural areas. This represents a first step toward minimizing the growing threat to Galápagos birds, and provides a basis for future research on conservation management plans in the Galápagos Islands. |
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