Road kills of amphibian and reptile species in Edirne and Kırklareli Provinces of Turkey

Abstract

Many wild animals are exposed to road-kills in the world. Amphibians and reptiles which live near the roads are the most endangered groups among vertebrates related to the road-kills. However, there are only few studies related road-kills of amphibians and reptiles in Turkey. We recorded 23 individuals (6 amphibian individuals belonging to 2 species and 17 reptile individuals belonging to 9 species) exposed to road-kills on the E87 highway on 18-22 June of 2016 in Kırklareli province while we found 134 individuals (114 amphibian individuals belonging to 3 species and 20 reptile individuals belonging to 8 species) killed on the E90 highway on 22-25 June of the same year in Edirne province The individuals killed more often belonged to Pelophylax ridibundus and Bufotes variabilis in Edirne province while the species more affected by road-kills were Pelophylax ridibundus, Lacerta trilineata, Dolichophis caspius and Testudo graeca in Kırklareli province.  The results of this short-term study show that there is a need for long-term studies to show that amphibians and reptiles exposed to road-kills are very common.

Keywords

• traffic,Testudo graeca,Dereköy,mortality,Enez

Türkiye’nin Edirne ve Kırklareli İllerindeki Amfibi ve Sürüngen Türlerinin Yol Ölümleri

Abstract

Dünyada birçok yaban hayvanı yol ölümlerine maruz kalmaktadır. Omurgalılar arasında yol ölümleri ile ilgili olarak en fazla tehlike altında olan hayvan grupları yol kenarlarında yaşayan amfibi ve sürüngenlerdir. Ancak, amfibi ve sürüngenlerin Türkiye’deki yol ölümleri ile ilgili az sayıda çalışma vardır. Kırklareli ilinde E87 karayolunda 18-22 Haziran 2016 tarihlerinde yol ölümüne maruz kalan 23 ölü bireyi (2 türe ait 6 amfibi bireyi ve 9 türe ait 17 sürüngen bireyi) kayıt altına alırken, Edirne ilindeki Enez-İpsala karayolunda ise aynı yılın 22-25 Haziran günlerinde 134 bireyi (3 amfibi türüne ait 114 birey ve 8 sürüngen türüne ait 20 birey) ölü olarak bulduk. Edirne ilinde en fazla ölü bireyi bulunan türler Pelophylax ridibundus ve Bufotes variabilis olurken, Kırklareli ilinde yol ölümlerinden en fazla etkilenen türler Pelophylax ridibundus, Lacerta trilineata, Dolichophis caspius ve Testudo graeca’dır. Kısa süreli bir dönemde gerçekleştirilen bu çalışmanın sonuçları, yol ölümlerine maruz kalan amfibi ve sürüngenlerin çok olduğunu gösterecek uzun dönemli çalışmaların yapılmasına ihtiyaç olduğunu göstermektedir

Keywords

• trafik,Testudo graeca,Dereköy,ölüm oranı,Enez

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