Nature Research Centre, Akademijos str. 2, LT-08412, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Nature Research Centre, Akademijos str. 2, LT-08412, Vilnius, Lithuania.
J Environ Manage. 2020 Nov 1;273:111172. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111172. Epub 2020 Aug 5.
Wildlife mortality caused by vehicles is a serious conservation and economic problem as collisions with large mammals are global, pervasive and increasing. We analysed 14,989 reports of ungulate-vehicle collisions (UVC) that occurred in Lithuania from 2002 to 2017. We analysed UVC data for four major ungulate species (roe deer, red deer, moose and wild boar) and checked for potential seasonal or daily trends. The temporal distribution of collisions was species-dependent. UVC analysis showed strong monthly and hourly pattern. Most occurrences took place before or during sunrise (dawn) and after or during sunset (dusk) during the year. In spring, the highest UVC peaks occurred early in the morning and late in the evening, while in winter these peaks occurred in late mornings and early evenings. With most UVC occurring on Fridays, daily variations were weak. We conclude that temporal variations of UVC distributions are result of a complex interaction of phenological factors and animal behaviour. The information provided in this study reinforces the knowledge on the dynamics and patterns of UVC and represents an important element for the identification of mitigation measures. Our findings suggest that efforts to reduce UVC should also focus on driver attitudes considering the seasonal and daily variations in UVC.
车辆导致的野生动物死亡是一个严重的保护和经济问题，因为大型哺乳动物与车辆的碰撞在全球范围内普遍存在且呈上升趋势。我们分析了 2002 年至 2017 年期间在立陶宛发生的 14989 起有蹄类动物与车辆碰撞（UVC）的报告。我们分析了四种主要有蹄类物种（狍、马鹿、驼鹿和野猪）的 UVC 数据，并检查了潜在的季节性或每日趋势。碰撞的时间分布与物种有关。UVC 分析显示出强烈的月度和小时模式。大多数事故发生在一年中的日出（黎明）前或期间以及日落（黄昏）后或期间。在春季，UVC 高峰最早发生在清晨和傍晚，而在冬季，这些高峰发生在清晨和傍晚。由于大多数 UVC 发生在星期五，因此每日变化较弱。我们得出的结论是，UVC 分布的时间变化是物候因素和动物行为复杂相互作用的结果。本研究提供的信息加强了对 UVC 动态和模式的了解，是确定缓解措施的重要因素。我们的研究结果表明，减少 UVC 的努力也应考虑到季节性和每日变化对驾驶员态度的影响。
