Road kills of amphibians in different land use areas from Sharavathi river basin, central Western Ghats, India

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K.S. Seshadri
A. Yadav
K.V. Gururaja

Abstract

A survey of amphibian mortality on roads was carried out in the Sharavathi river basin in the central Western Ghats. Road kills in three different land use areas: agricultural fields, water bodies and forests were recorded for four days along three 100m stretches in each type of area. One-hundred-and-forty-four individuals belonging to two orders, eight families, 11 genera and 13 species were recorded in the survey. Kills/km observed were: in forest 55, agricultural fields 38 and water bodies 27, for an overall average of 40 kills/km. Kill species compositions varied significantly between land use areas, but not overall kill rates.

Article Details

Section
Communications
Author Biographies

K.S. Seshadri

K.S. Seshadri is a researcher at ATREE, currently working on epiphytes and canopy ecology at Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu.

A. Yadav

Amit Yadav is a researcher at CES, currently working on ecological modeling in the watersheds of western Himalaya.

K.V. Gururaja

K.V. Gururaja is a researcher at CES, currently working on the effect of habitat fragmentation on diversity and distribution of amphibians in the Western Ghats.