Atropelamentos de quelônios em uma rodovia do pampa brasileiro

Abstract

In the latest decades several studies have demonstrated different impacts of roads (highways) on the community of vertebrates, from loss and fragmentation of their habitat to their death by run-over. For some species of reptiles, this fact can be intensified because these animals are relatively slow or because their activity throughout the day may coincide with increased flow of vehicles in certain areas. The effect of road mortality on turtle populations is becoming an ever increasing problem and may be associated with factors such as traffic density, nesting behavior, or ecological features in the vicinities of the roadway. Turtles can also be found when they move through their environment looking for terrestrial habitat. For the Brazilian Pampa, few studies on the subject have been developed so far. This study aimed the conduction of a survey about death of turtles due to trampling, in two patches of the BR290. A hundred and two animals were sampled in the first area and 65 in the second one. Sampling was performed twice a week, with intervals of at least two and at most four days between them. Sampling through the sampled areas was performed by bicycle (area 1) or by foot (area 2). We recorded a total of a total of 96 individuals victimized during the study. Trachemys dorbigni (Emydidae) was the species most commonly found followed by Hydromedusa tectifera (Chelidae).