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Roadkill
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==Research== ===Roadkill observation projects=== The study of roadkill has proven highly amenable to the application of [[citizen science]] observation methods. Since 2009, statewide roadkill observation systems have been started in the US, enrolling hundreds of observers in reporting roadkill on a website. The observers, who are usually naturalists or professional scientists, provide identification, location, and other information about the observations. The data are then displayed on a website for easy visualization and made available for studies of proximate causes of roadkill, actual wildlife distributions, wildlife movement, and other studies. Roadkill observation system websites are available for the US states of California,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wildlifecrossing.net/california |title=wildlifecrossing.net/california |publisher=Wildlifecrossing.net |access-date=2013-02-20}}</ref> Maine,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wildlifecrossing.net/maine |title=wildlifecrossing.net/maine |publisher=Wildlifecrossing.net |access-date=2013-02-20}}</ref> and Idaho.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/roadkill/ |title=Roadkill β Wildlife Collision Mortalities | IFWIS |publisher=Fishandgame.idaho.gov |access-date=2013-02-20}}</ref> In each case, index roads are used to help quantify total impact of vehicle collisions on specific vertebrate taxa. Researchers that use data from citizen science platforms may benefit from a large pool of data, specially for iconic, well known conspicuous species. Care must be taken when analyzing data for species that are not easy to identify, as studies have shown that misidentification is not uncommon amongst these platforms.<ref name=":0" /> In the United Kingdom, "The Road Lab" (formerly Project Splatter) was started by [[Cardiff University]] in 2012, with the aim of estimating the impact of roads and motoring on British wildlife.<ref>[http://projectsplatter.co.uk/ "The Road Lab" roadkill observation project] in the United Kingdom</ref> Since then it has gathered data on its website, and on several social media platforms including Facebook<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/TheRoadLab|title=The Road Lab|website=www.facebook.com}}</ref> and Twitter.<ref>[https://twitter.com/projectsplatter "The Road Lab" page on Twitter]</ref> In India, the project "Provide Animals Safe Transit on Highways" (PATH) was initiated by the [[Environment Conservation Group]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecgwild.org/|title=Environment Conservation Group (ECG) -|access-date=23 November 2016}}</ref> in 2015, to study the impact of roads on Indian wildlife.<ref>[http://www.ecgwild.org/path 'PATH' roadkill observation project] in India</ref> A team of five wildlife conservationists led by R. Mohammed Saleem had undertaken a forty-four-day expedition, traveling more than 17,000 kilometers across 22 states to study and spread awareness on roadkill.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/when-animals-cross-the-road/article8414931.ece|title=When animals cross the roadβ¦|first=K.|last=Jeshi|date=31 March 2016|access-date=23 November 2016|newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/stop-the-animals-are-crossing/article8029760.ece|title=Stop! The animals are crossing|first=K.|last=Jeshi|date=26 December 2015|access-date=23 November 2016|newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/awareness-drive-to-prevent-roadkill-on-forest-routes/article8217044.ece|title=Awareness drive to prevent roadkill on forest routes|date=10 February 2016|access-date=23 November 2016|newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref> It is also gathering data on its website, and social media platforms.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/ECGPATH/|title=PATH β Facebook|website=Facebook |access-date=23 November 2016}}</ref> More focused scientific studies on impacts of traffic on animals have been conducted across India especially in the Western Ghats of south India documenting a large number of species of insects, other arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals killed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rao |first1=Shyama Prasad |last2=Girish |first2=M. K. Saptha |date=2007 |title=Road kills: Assessing insect casualties using flagship taxon |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24097817 |journal=Current Science |volume=92 |issue=6 |pages=830β837|jstor=24097817 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sheshadri |first1=K. S. |last2=Ganesh |first2=T. |date=2011 |title=Faunal mortality on roads due to religious tourism across time and space in protected areas: A case study from south India |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2011.07.017 |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=262 |issue=9 |pages=1713β1721|doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2011.07.017 |bibcode=2011ForEM.262.1713S |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Another study conducted on 420 km of roads located along cultivated fields in Punjab showed granivorous birds to be killed far more than their availability, likely attracted to spilled grain on the roads.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dhindsa |first1=M. S. |last2=Sandhu |first2=J. S. |last3=Sandhu |first3=P. S. |last4=Toor |first4=H. S. |date=1988 |title=Roadside Birds in Punjab (India): Relation to Mortality from Vehicles |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892900029799 |journal=Environmental Conservation |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=303β310|doi=10.1017/S0376892900029799 |bibcode=1988EnvCo..15..303D |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In the Czech Republic, an online animal-vehicle crash reporting system Srazenazver.cz is gathering both professional (Police, road maintenance) and volunteered data on roadkill and wildlife-vehicle crashes.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Srazenazver.cz β Registry of animals hit by car on roads and railways | url = http://srazenazver.cz/en }}</ref> The application allows users to input, edit and browse data. The data is visualized in the form of maps, graphs or tables and analyzed online (KDE+ hotspots identification, area statistics).<ref>{{Cite web | title = Kdeplus.cz β Cluster identification software | url = http://kdeplus.cz/en/ }}</ref> In Australia, [[wombat]] roadkill data is collected by the citizen science project, WomSAT.<ref name="WomSAT">WomSAT.org.au</ref><ref name="Skelton">Skelton C, Cook A, West P, Spencer R-J, Old JM (2018). Building an army of wombat warriors: developing and sustaining a citizen science project. Australian Mammalogy. 41, 186β195 doi: 10.1071/AM18018</ref><ref>Mayadunnage S., Stannard HJ, West P, Old JM (2022). Identification of hotspots and the factors affecting wombat vehicle collisions using the citizen science tool, WomSAT. Australian Mammalogy. Accepted doi: 10.1071/AM22001</ref> ===State wildlife roadkill identification guide=== <!--what, no mention of "Flattened Fauna" (rev. ed. 2006)?--> The first wildlife roadkill identification guide produced by a state agency in North America was published by the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation (BCMoT) in Canada in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/Publications/eng_publications/environment/WRIG/ |title=th.gov.bc.ca |publisher=th.gov.bc.ca |access-date=2013-02-20 |archive-date=2014-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030004827/http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/Publications/eng_publications/environment/WRIG/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> BCMoT's "Wildlife Roadkill Identification Guide" focused on the most common large carnivores and ungulates found in British Columbia. The guide was developed to assist BCMoT's maintenance contractors in identifying wildlife carcasses found on provincial highways as part of their responsibilities for BCMoT's Wildlife Accident Reporting System (WARS).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/Publications/eng_publications/environment/WARS_reports.htm |title=th.gov.bc.ca |publisher=th.gov.bc.ca |access-date=2013-02-20 |archive-date=2010-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206060416/http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/Publications/eng_publications/environment/WARS_reports.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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