Mortality of birds due to vehicle collision in the Bañados del Rio Dulce and Laguna Mar Chiquita Multiple Use Reserve, Córdoba, Argentina

Abstract

Wildlife roadkill is considered one of the most important conservation issues worldwide. The routes that cross or surround natural protected areas cause significant decreases in the abundances of amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds. Mortality of birds due to vehicle collision was estimated in a section of Provincial Route 17 in the southern limit of the Bañados del Rio Dulce and Laguna Mar Chiquita Multiple Use Reserve (Córdoba, Argentina) in the winter and spring of 2015 and the summer of 2016. We recorded a total of 270 dead birds belonging to 18 species. Zenaida auriculata was the species that presented the highest number of collisions (85%), with an increase between winter and summer. The number of dead birds increased between winter and summer, as did the number of collided species. A complex web of factors influences collisions, some typical of local bird communities and their predators and competitors such as phenology, demography or feeding habits, and others linked to human activity, such as grain transport and tourist seasonality.