Road Losses Add Up
(Page 2 of 2)
April 25, 2008
Douglas M. Main for Purdue University
Frogs, toads and salamanders are all amphibians, a class of four-legged animals known for their moist, scale-free skin. Most species begin life as gilled, water-dwelling creatures before undergoing a dramatic metamorphosis to become four-legged, air-breathing adults, walking or hopping about on land. They serve vital roles in many ecosystems, as consumers of various animals like insects and as a food source for carnivores. To maintain healthy ecosystems, it is vital to limit amphibian losses, DeWoody says.
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The study, published online in the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology, significantly underestimated the number of animals killed because many specimens were scavenged, degraded beyond recognition or moved, DeWoody says. About five times more animals died than could be recorded, he estimates.
To survive, most amphibians require habitats with running or standing fresh water, in which they lay eggs and begin life. This makes them vulnerable to water pollution and land-use changes like drainage or waterway disruption. Habitats like wetlands and rainforests are in decline worldwide, DeWoody says.
In addition to the toll on frogs and other amphibians, roadways put a wide variety of other animals at risk, he says. Roadkill identified in the study include: 79 opossums, the most common mammal; 36 chimney swifts, the most common bird; 35 common garter snakes, the most common reptile; 43 raccoons; and four white-tailed deer.
Most roadkill was found along Lindberg Road, which passes through Celery Bog Nature Area in West Lafayette. Along a one-kilometer (0.6-mile) section, an average of eight amphibians were killed each day, DeWoody says.
Funded by the Joint Transportation Research Program, a partnership of the Indiana Department of Transportation and Purdue, the study focused on road-killed vertebrates, or animals with backbones.
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