Madden Joah R, Perkins Sarah E
Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK.
School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK.
R Soc Open Sci. 2017 Oct 4;4(10):170617. doi: 10.1098/rsos.170617. eCollection 2017 Oct.
Pheasants () are commonly killed on UK roads, presenting a threat to motorists and a loss to the game shooting industry. Pheasants may be inherently susceptible, or the recent increase in their artificial rearing and release may have exacerbated the situation, either through population increases or because artificial rearing has altered movement behaviour. We compared intra-annual patterns of roadkill reported in the UK from the 1960s (prior to the onset of mass release programmes) with that from the 2010s (when pheasant release was well established and widespread), considering roadkill sex and locations and accounting for changes in traffic levels. Pheasants in the UK are disproportionately likely to be reported killed on roads. However, this likelihood has not changed notably over the past 50 years. Instead, the timing of roadkill has changed. Pheasants in the 2010s are no longer susceptible during their breeding season, unlike in the 1960s, perhaps because relatively few breed successfully. Instead, roadkill first peaks in September-November as pheasants disperse from release pens, females first. Roadkill declines over winter, but when supplementary feeding ceases in February, we see a second peak in roadkill. Roadkill rates are higher in regions of the UK where there is little arable farming and hence natural food supplies are scarce.
雉鸡（）在英国道路上经常被撞死，这对驾车者构成威胁，也给狩猎行业带来损失。雉鸡可能天生就易受影响，或者近期人工饲养和放归数量的增加可能加剧了这种情况，这可能是由于种群数量增加，或者是因为人工饲养改变了它们的移动行为。我们比较了英国20世纪60年代（大规模放归计划开始之前）和2010年代（雉鸡放归已经成熟且广泛）报告的年度内道路死亡模式，考虑了道路死亡的性别和地点，并考虑了交通水平的变化。在英国，雉鸡在道路上被撞死的可能性不成比例地高。然而，在过去50年里，这种可能性并没有明显变化。相反，道路死亡的时间发生了变化。与20世纪60年代不同，2010年代的雉鸡在繁殖季节不再易受影响，可能是因为成功繁殖的数量相对较少。相反，道路死亡首次高峰出现在9月至11月，此时雉鸡从放归围栏中散开，雌性先散开。道路死亡数量在冬季下降，但当2月停止补充喂食时，我们会看到道路死亡数量出现第二个高峰。在英国几乎没有耕地、自然食物供应稀缺的地区，道路死亡发生率更高。
