Assessment of Avian Road Kill Mortality in the State Highway Passing Through Agricultural Landscape

Abstract

Roads are becoming one of the greater threats to avian fauna. In India, very few studies have been carried out to assess the mortality of avian fauna and other vertebrates. The data on the road kill survey was collected from Jan 2015 to Dec 2017. For the survey of a road-killed avian fauna, the road passing through the agricultural landscape (from Amravati to Paratwada) was selected based on geographical location and availability of vegetation diversity. The survey found a total of 694 carcasses of 38 different species belonging to 25 families that were killed on Amravati to Paratwada Highway. The highest mortality of Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis) was recorded on Amravati to Paratwada state highway. While studying the seasonal variations, it was observed that the maximum mortality was found from June to September and the minimum from February to May.