Reptile mortality on roads in the colombian eastern llanos foothill

Collisions of vehicles with wild reptiles are one of the most important causes of biodiversity loss, caused by the construction and operation of road infrastructure. The study objective was to analyze reptile mortality on roads in the colombian eastern llanos foothill. Collision events were analyzed in this study, establishing critical points, collision rates and their relationship with the vegetation coverage around the roads. Field travels were conducted between April and September (2015) in three sections of two national roads in the department of Meta (Colombia). A vehicle was used to follow the roads at an average speed of 40 km/h and car collision events with reptiles, its location, animal identification and associated vegetation coverage were recorded. Estimators and similarity tests were used for species diversity. Critical points and collision rates were identified by heat maps and kilometer rates of road traffic. In total, 204 collision events were recorded for 33 reptile species with collision rates between 0.019 and 0.042 collisions/km/day, and 30 critical points of road collision were identified. The calculated collision rates have an inverse relationship with the type of coverage since the presence of forests, bushes and wetlands are related to fewer collisions. These findings represent an important tool to implement strategies for the prevention and mitigation of wildlife - vehicles collision events in the Colombian Orinoquia.