Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 July 2020 | 12(10): 16352–16356
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN
0974-7893 (Print)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5532.12.10.16352-16356
#5532 | Received 06 November 2019
| Final received 22 May 2020 | Finally accepted 30 June 2020
Impact of vehicular traffic on birds in
Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu, India
T. Siva 1 & P. Neelanarayanan 2
1,2 Research Department of Zoology,
Nehru Memorial College (Autonomous & Affiliated to Bharathidasan
University), Puthanampatti, Tiruchirappalli District,
Tamil Nadu 621007, India.
1 sivanaturewild@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 dr.pnn31@gmail.com
Editor: V. Gokula,
National College, Trichy, India. Date of publication: 26 July
2020 (online & print)
Citation: Siva.T.
& P. Neelanarayanan (2020). Impact of vehicular traffic on
birds in Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(10): 16352–16356. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5532.12.10.16352-16356
Copyright: © Siva & Neelanarayanan 2020. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium
by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors declare no
competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We are highly
indebted to the Management and Principal of Nehru Memorial College (Autonomous)
for their help and encouragement. We
thank Mr. G. Lakshmanan for his help during the study period.
Abstract: Roads have numerous
direct and indirect ecological impacts on wildlife. Roads constitute an extensive and integral
part of our environment. Collisions with
vehicles kill a large number of birds every year. The present study was carried out from
January 2016 to December 2016. The data
was collected from Nehru Memorial College to Pavithram
Lake of Thuraiyur to Namakkal
road of Musiri Taluk, Tiruchchirappalli
District. During this study, we
recorded a total of 64 birds belonging to 12 species killed due to vehicular
traffic. A maximum of 11 birds were
killed in the months of January and October, and a minimum of two bird kills
were observed in the months of September and December. Of the 64 birds, the roadside mortality was
observed to the tune of 25%, 20.3%, 14%, 12.5%, 10.9%, 4.6%, and 4.6% for
Southern Coucal Centropus
parroti, Common Myna Acridotheres tristis,
House Crow Corvus splendens,
Spotted Owlet Athene brama, Indian Jungle Crow
Corvus culminatus,
Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis, and Large Grey Babbler Turdoides
malcolmi.
Other birds such as Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus,
Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis,
Shikra Accipiter badius,
White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus, and White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus
accounted for 1.5% mortality. Suggestive
measures to prevent wildlife loss due to vehicular traffic are presented in
this communication.
Keywords: Bird mortality,
Common Myna, ecological factors, roadkill, vehicle
collision.
Roads are important part of human life for
moving from one place to another with the help of vehicles. They restrict animal movement within the
landscape and they cause roadside animal mortality due to vehicles (Van der
Zande et al. 1980; Forman & Alexander 1998). Roads affect the surrounding environment in
many ways to harm their neighboring floral and faunal
diversity (Forman & Alexander 1998).
Roads can alter animal behavior, with many
animals being attracted to them (Santos et al. 2011). For example, ectothermic animals like
reptiles visit roads to bask, and birds consume fallen grains from roadside and
gravel to aid digestion (Noss 2002). Scavenging birds like corvids and raptors are
attracted to the carcasses of other roadkill animals and are often killed
themselves (Dean & Milton 2003; Antworth et al.
2005; Collinson 2013).
Road accidents with vehicles lead to death or
injury of several groups of animals from small insects to large mammals all
over the world. They affect the
populations of both common and threatened animal species. Birds utilize roads for foraging, hunting,
scavenging, shelter and this can increase their vulnerability to vehicle
collisions (Orlowski 2005; Boves
2007; Huijser et al. 2007). Insectivorous and nocturnal birds follow
insects that are attracted to headlights of vehicles during the night making
them more vulnerable to collisions.
Most of the roadkill studies on wildlife have
been taken up in protected areas and particularly on large mammals. In India,
roadkill mortality studies outside protected areas are scarce, a few have been
reported by Kumara et al. (2000), Vijayakumar et al.
(2001), Sunder (2004), Pragatheesh (2011), Seshadri
& Ganesh (2011), and Gubbi et al. (2012).
According to Sundar (2004), during wet monsoon
season, more number of bird mortality is recorded on the roads compared to the
other seasons. These studies underline
the importance of understanding how road characteristics and road surroundings
influence roadkill numbers and hence the present investigation.
Materials and Methods
Study Area
The study area was selected between Nehru
Memorial College and Pavithram Lake of Musiri Taluk (State Highway numbers 62 and 161
between Thuraiyur and Namakkal)
(Figure 1). This is one of the busiest
routes of this area and it is used commonly by two-wheelers, cars, public
transport buses, and goods carriers of various sizes. The length of the road was 41km. The altitude of the chosen study area ranged
110–225 m. On the 41-km road stretch on
either side, the following habitats of mostly rainfed crop lands, barren
lands, human habitations, and a few forest areas were observed.
Methods
The present study was carried from January 2016
to December 2016. Roadkill surveys were
conducted using a two-wheeler. Only
birds killed due to vehicular traffic were observed and recorded approximately
10 to 15 days every month. Data on the
roadkill species, number of individuals and the place of the kill was noted,
and the latitude and longitude recorded using a hand-held Garmin etrax20
device; however, roadkill specimens were not collected from the encountered
sites and only photographs were taken to aid in identification. The killed birds were identified up to
species level using the field guide by Grimmett et
al. (2011).
Results and Discussion
In total, 64 birds were encountered and recorded
during the entire study period (Table 1; Image 1–8). There were 12 species of birds which belonged
to six orders (Cuculiformes, Passeriformes, Coraciiformes, Accipitriformes, Strigiformes, and Gruiformes) and
nine families (Cuculidae, Sturnidae,
Corvidae, Coraciidae, Leiothrichidae, Accipitridae, Strigidae, Rallidae, and Pycnonotidae). In
the months of January and October, a maximum of 11 dead birds were
observed. On the other hand, a minimum
of two birds were seen in the months of September and December 2016 (Figure
2). Highest mortality in terms of
numbers, i.e., 16 were found for Southern Coucal Centropus parroti
followed by 13 for Common Myna Acridotheres
tristis, nine for House Crow Corvus
splendens, eight for Spotted Owlet Athene brama, seven for Indian Jungle Crow Corvus
culminatus, three for Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis
and Large Grey Babbler Turdoides malcolmi, and one each for Asian Koel
Eudynamys scolopaceus,
Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis,
Shikra Accipiter badius,
White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus, & White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus.
Maximum mortality (30) was recorded close to Devarappampatti and the adjacent forest areas (Devarappampatti Reserved Forest). As there are only three speed breakers in the
stretch between Kannanurpalayam and Thathaiyangarpettai, vehicles cross this distance at high
speeds. The commuters traveling on two
and four-wheelers near the forest areas throw food including food grains on
either side of the road, which attract birds and eventually lead to the
mortality of birds. More number of bird
mortality in the months of January and October might be correlated with the
movement of general public in their own and public vehicles before and after
local festivals such as ‘Pongal’ and ‘Diwali’.
During these months the vehicular traffic density would be more when
compared to all other months in the year and this would have caused a higher
number of bird roadkills. Among the recorded birds, there were nine
omnivorous, two carnivorous, and one insectivorous bird. Scavengers or omnivorous birds were attracted
to carcasses on the roads, and while feeding on them, were hit by vehicles resulting
in their death. All the 12 species of
recorded birds are common and are listed in the Least Concern category of IUCN
but their role in the environment is essential.
The highest mortality of Southern Coucals in the present investigation is due to their habit
of low height flight (1–2 m above the road; pers. obs. of first author) when
crossing the road. Similarly, babblers
also took low height flight while crossing the road. Common Myna has the
habit of searching scattered grains and other food particles on and alongside
the road. Thus, it can be suggested that
the common factors for the mortality of birds is the movement from one side to
another side at low height, and getting attracted towards food on the road or
along the road sides.
Roadkill studies in India has mainly focused on
vertebrates with a few studies on invertebrates. Earlier, in Anamalai
Hills, Vijayakumar et al. (2001) reported roadkill of vertebrate fauna such as
amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals while Jeganathan
et al. (2018) reported both invertebrate and vertebrate animals’ mortality. Wildlife mortality due to vehicular traffic
in Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve has
been published by Gokula (1997) and Baskaran & Boominathan (2010).
Roadkill of amphibians was earlier recorded by Seshadri et al. (2009)
from the Sharavathi River basin in central Western
Ghats. Roadkill mortality of snakes in
the Malnad region, central Western Ghats, was given
by Jagadeesh et al. (2014). Earlier
researchers reported the following factors to affect bird mortality on roads
such as the volume of traffic, speed of vehicles, scavenging behaviour,
individual configuration of roads, road density, foraging opportunities
(Clevenger et al. 2003; Erritzoe et al. 2003;
Holm & Laursen 2011; Kociolek
& Clevenger 2011). All these factors
corroborate the results of the present investigation. This study presents observations made in
non-protected areas.
Conclusions and
Recommendations
It is evident from the results that the chosen
study area is prone to bird roadkills due to vehicular
traffic. Movement of birds from one side to the other side of the road at low
height and feeding on food grains/carcasses found on or near the road could be
the major reasons for the roadkill.
Awareness about the importance of birds needs to be created among the
drivers of vehicles who frequently/regularly use the road.
Table 1. Birds that were killed due to vehicular traffic in the chosen
study area during the study period.
|
Order |
Family |
Name of the bird |
Scientific name |
Food habit |
Number of bird roadkills |
1 |
Accipitriformes |
Accipitridae |
Shikra |
Accipiter badius |
Carnivorous |
1 |
2 |
Gruiformes |
Rallidae |
White-breasted Waterhen |
Amaurornis phoenicurus |
Omnivorous |
1 |
3 |
Cuculiformes |
Cuculidae |
Asian Koel |
Eudynamys scolopaceus |
Omnivorous |
1 |
4 |
Southern Coucal |
Centropus (sinensis)
parroti |
Omnivorous |
16 |
||
5 |
Strigiformes |
Strigidae |
Spotted Owlet |
Athene brama |
Carnivorous |
8 |
6 |
Coraciiformes |
Coraciidae |
Indian Roller |
Coracias benghalensis |
Insectivores |
1 |
7 |
Passeriformes |
Corvidae |
House Crow |
Corvus splendens |
Omnivorous |
9 |
8 |
Indian Jungle Crow |
Corvus (macrorhynchos)
culminatus |
Omnivorous |
7 |
||
9 |
Leiothrichidae |
Yellow-billed Babbler |
Turdoides affinis |
Omnivorous |
3 |
|
10 |
Large Grey Babbler |
Turdoides malcolmi |
Omnivorous |
3 |
||
11 |
Pycnonotidae |
White-browed Bulbul |
Pycnonotus luteolus |
Omnivorous |
1 |
|
12 |
Sturnidae |
Common Myna |
Acridotheres tristis |
Omnivorous |
13 |
|
Total |
64 |
For
figures & image – click here
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