Velosa, Steffy, Turner, Sarah E. and Jaeger, Jochen A.G. (2025) Spatial distribution of wildlife road mortality: How important is rigorous data collection? Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 149 (105016). pp. 1-21.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2025.105016
Abstract
We conducted 66 road mortality surveys along a 31.5 km stretch of a high-traffic 4-lane highway between Montreal and Sherbrooke in Québec, Canada. Surveys by vehicle between May and August 2019 recorded 212 animal carcasses from 48 species. Hotspots and coldspots for ground-dwelling vertebrates (mammals, amphibians, and reptiles) and birds were identified at four scales. The number of hotspots was higher at finer scales, while the combined length of hotspots was greater at coarser scales. We found significantly more animals and identified more species than the highway patrol, suggesting that rigorous road mortality surveys are beneficial for better understanding road impacts on biodiversity. We estimated that the highway patrol’s reporting probability for medium-sized mammals (more than 0.65 kg, less than 30 kg) was between 21 % and 54 % that of our systematic surveys. We recommend priority locations for mitigation to reduce road mortality and re-establish connectivity between wildlife populations separated by the highway.
| Divisions: | Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Geography, Planning and Environment |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Article |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Authors: | Velosa, Steffy and Turner, Sarah E. and Jaeger, Jochen A.G. |
| Journal or Publication: | Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment |
| Date: | 1 December 2025 |
| Projects: |
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| Funders: |
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| Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | 10.1016/j.trd.2025.105016 |
| Keywords: | Connectivity, Data collection, Fences, Hotspots, Mitigation, Mortality surveys, Road ecology, Roadkill, Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs). |
| ID Code: | 996397 |
| Deposited By: | Jochen Jaeger |
| Deposited On: | 28 Oct 2025 15:52 |
| Last Modified: | 28 Oct 2025 15:52 |
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