Impacto de las carreteras sobre la fauna silvestre: relación de variables ambientales y acumulación de atropellamiento de fauna silvestre en vías de Cundinamarca, Colombia

Abstract

Undoubtedly, the construction and improvement of roads in the regions contribute directly to economic development, but at the same time generate negative impacts on the natural dynamics of ecosystems. Roads and traffic are significant factors in the primary mortality of wildlife, interfere with natural migration routes, and fragment areas of activity or territories. Although different prevention and mitigation measures have been designed over time, there are still many gaps in the implementation of these plans, especially in developing countries such as Colombia. In the specific case of Cundinamarca, there is a lack of information, at the level of the impact that roads have on biodiversity, reflected in the running over of wild fauna. The objective of this work is to evaluate the relationship of environmental variables with significant accumulation points, in order to contribute to the impact mitigation and prevention processes, based on records of run overs on selected roads in Cundinamarca. For this, data on wildlife run over in the region were requested from the Regional Autonomous Corporation (CAR), with which a database was generated that was spatially analyzed through the Siriema software, which allows the development of analysis of hot spots (Hot-Spots), based on statistics such as K-Ripley. These allowed us to reject the randomness of the run over events and determine significant accumulation points in 5 selected road sections of Cundinamarca. A total of 398 road kills were recorded, of which 284 are mammals, 38 are birds, 30 are reptiles, and 46 records could not be identified. Significant roadkill clusters were also observed near rivers and areas of unstable forest. Knowledge about the impacts of roads on biodiversity is essential for its protection; studies, in addition to providing information on the impacts on ecosystems and their populations, can provide information on ecological aspects.