about Roadkill
In this citizen science project, we want to use scientific methods to create an overview in Austria of where which animals are road-killed and what the reasons for this might be. With your reports we aim to identify hotspots and mitigate them together with our partners.
[Picture above: pixapay Lizenz jplenio (https://pixabay.com/de/photos/morgendämmerung-straße-nebel-3208158/) ]
In this citizen science project of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, we would like to create an overview of where animals are roadkilled and what reasons there might be for this. In the project Roadkill, we would like to collaborate with you in many ways, because citizen science means for us an active collaboration between research and society, in which everyone can contribute expertise and is valued. The collaboration is on a voluntary basis and can therefore be freely designed. You can find out in which ways you can collaborate with the project Roadkill in the section "Explore". What does roadkill mean? Roadkill is the term used to describe all animals killed in road traffic. The German term Wildunfall (wildlife accident) falls short as it usually only refers to larger mammals and occasionally birds. This is also reflected in official statistics - data on animals killed in road traffic are mainly collected on so-called "huntable game". Data on all other animal species - including endangered species such as amphibians - are missing. What is the relevance of roadkill? Roads fragment the habitats of many animal species. Applied to human living spaces, this would mean that, for…
Our clear aim is to reduce the number of roadkills as much as possible by getting to the bottom of the causes of roadkills. The first step is to get an overview of the number, extent and distribution of roadkills in Austria. By compiling many individual data into one large data set, we aim to determine under which conditions (weather, time of day, ...), at which locations (forest, meadow, local area, ...), on which roads, which animals become victims of roadkill. In addition to answering these scientific questions, we would like to identify "hotspots", i.e. places where roadkill is particularly frequent. In the future, we will try to mitigate these hotspots in cooperation with authorities, NGOs and communities. The overall aim of the project Roadkill is to raise awareness of roadkill among all participants.
Who can participate in the project Roadkill? Anyone can participate in the Roadkill project. The only requirement is registration in the SPOTTERON System at www.roadkill.at (in German) and internet access. A certain knowledge of vertebrate species is an advantage (but not a prerequisite). How can I participate in the project Roadkill? You can participate in the Roadkill project in many ways. You can find an overview in the section Explore. Can I enter my data worldwide? Since 2021, we have focused on Austria for reporting data. If you would like to report roadkills in other countries, you are welcome to contact our colleagues in the respective countries. In our blog, we have compiled a list of countries with roadkill projects known to us. What happens with my data? Your entries in the Roadkill project are displayed in the interactive map (in German) and can be viewed by anyone. The raw data can only be viewed by people with administrative rights and are stored on the servers of the Citizen Science Platform SPOTTERON. Data on reported roadkills are validated and made freely available via GBIF and Zenodo. No commercial goals are pursued with the Roadkill project. Personal data will be kept strictly confidential…
We understand our project team as everyone who contributes to the project. Of course our citizen scientists are in the center of attention, because without their data reports, the discussions about the recorded animal species and the improvement suggestions for the apps, website and the method itself, the project would not be possible. Some of our citizen scientists are also presented in our team blog. The project Roadkill is carried out at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, therefore some investigations are also carried out within the framework of master theses. Currently running master theses are: Patrick Diem: Hotspot analysis of roadkill in Austria based on citizen science. Raphael van Dyck: Analysis of surrounding landscape and road types for roadkill hedgehogs In addition, there are people in the project who contribute significantly to the success, be it through programming and designing the website and apps or through scientific work. We are happy to have such a great team and that it is constantly growing and becoming more diverse due to our Citizen Scientists. Florian Heigl Principal Investigator. Senior scientist at the Institute of Zoology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. Role: Florian is coordinating…
