Conservation Ecology Research Group, Centre for Ecological Research, Debrecen, Hungary.
Kiskunság National Park Directorate, Kecskemét, Hungary.
PeerJ. 2024 Sep 26;12:e17923. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17923. eCollection 2024.
Road mortality can be a serious threat to different animals, including snakes. However, mortality patterns can vary between species, intraspecific groups, locations and time. We compared the number of road-killed individuals (carcasses) of two semiaquatic water snakes ( and ) on 58 km of road sections bordered by an active floodplain and a flood-protected former floodplain on one side and mountainous areas on the other in NE Hungary based on surveys conducted once every two weeks in three non-consecutive years. The results showed high road mortality of snakes, with a spring and an autumn peak corresponding to the times when snakes emerge from and return to hibernating sites. The results show that small-scale spatial differences in road mortality were mediated by landscape structure along the road, while the effects of traffic volume, flood regime and the age and sex of the individuals were negligible. For conservation, the study suggests that establishing culvert passages under the road and/or artificial hibernating sites on the floodplain-side of the roads in critical sections can be promising in reducing road-related mortality.
道路死亡率可能对包括蛇在内的不同动物构成严重威胁。然而，死亡率模式在物种之间、种内群体之间、地点和时间上可能有所不同。我们根据在三年的三个非连续时间段内每两周进行一次的调查，比较了在匈牙利东北部的 58 公里道路段上，两侧为活跃洪泛区和受洪水保护的前洪泛区，另一侧为山区，两种半水生水蛇（ 和 ）的道路死亡个体（尸体）数量。结果表明，蛇类的道路死亡率很高，春季和秋季的高峰期与蛇类从冬眠地出来和返回冬眠地的时间相对应。结果表明，道路死亡率的小尺度空间差异是由道路沿线的景观结构介导的，而交通量、洪水情况以及个体的年龄和性别影响可以忽略不计。为了保护起见，该研究建议在关键路段的道路下方建立涵洞通道，或在洪泛区一侧的道路上建立人工冬眠点，这可能有助于减少与道路相关的死亡率。
