Programa de Pós-Graduação em Análise e Modelagem de Sistemas Ambientais, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil; Transportation Research and Environmental Modeling Lab (TREM Lab), Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil; Núcleo de Ecologia de Rodovias e Ferrovias (NERF), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 91501-970, Brazil.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Análise e Modelagem de Sistemas Ambientais, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil; Transportation Research and Environmental Modeling Lab (TREM Lab), Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil; Núcleo de Ecologia de Rodovias e Ferrovias (NERF), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 91501-970, Brazil.
Sci Total Environ. 2019 Apr 10;660:493-500. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.371. Epub 2019 Jan 4.
Transportation infrastructures are directly responsible for killing billions of animals worldwide. Although the understanding about road impacts have recently increased, the impact of railroads on wildlife has received less attention. The current knowledge concerning the impacts of railroads focuses mainly on large mammals although amphibians might be affected. Our study aims to unravel temporal and spatial patterns of Rhinella toad fatalities on a Brazilian Amazonian railroad, to comprehend how toads are killed and to estimate the magnitude of toad fatalities. Data collection was carried out on foot on an 871-km stretch of the Estrada de Ferro Carajás from 2013 to 2017. We identified different potential causes for fatalities: being run over, desiccated or with barotrauma signs. We estimated a surprisingly high carcass persistence probability of about 38 days. After correcting for the bias from carcass detection and removal, we estimated that approximately 10,000 toads are killed per year (≈ 11 fatalities/km/year). A GLM model showed that toads were more likely to be killed in the dry to wet transition. We identified critical zones of fatalities and prioritized them according to their intensity. The highly critical segments encompass >10% of all fatalities although they cover only 1.5% of the railroad. Our study is the first one to address carcass detection and persistence on railroads and to unravel patterns of fatalities of an amphibian species in a tropical climate. A better understanding of the patterns of animal fatality on railroads is of fundamental importance to manage and mitigate this impact.
交通基础设施直接导致了全世界数十亿动物的死亡。尽管最近人们对道路影响的认识有所提高，但铁路对野生动物的影响却受到较少关注。目前关于铁路影响的知识主要集中在大型哺乳动物上，尽管两栖动物也可能受到影响。我们的研究旨在揭示巴西亚马逊地区一条铁路上蟾蝾致死的时间和空间模式，了解蟾蝾是如何死亡的，并估计蟾蝾死亡的数量。2013 年至 2017 年，我们在长达 871 公里的卡拉雅斯铁路上步行进行了数据收集。我们确定了导致蟾蝾死亡的不同潜在原因：被轧死、脱水或有气压伤迹象。我们估计蟾蝾尸体的存留概率高得惊人，约为 38 天。在对尸体检测和清除的偏差进行校正后，我们估计每年约有 10,000 只蟾蝾死亡（≈ 11 只死亡/公里/年）。GLM 模型显示，蟾蝾在干湿过渡期间更有可能死亡。我们确定了致命区，并根据其强度对其进行了优先级排序。高度致命的路段虽然仅占铁路的 1.5%，但却包含了超过 10%的所有死亡事件。我们的研究首次解决了铁路上的尸体检测和存留问题，并揭示了热带气候下两栖动物死亡的模式。更好地了解铁路上动物死亡的模式对于管理和减轻这种影响至关重要。
