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For most of us, roadkill serves as an ugly reminder of the dangers that humans pose to animals. For some scientists, though, roadkill can be used for good.
This is the case for researchers like Deakin’s associate professor of behavioural ecology, Dr Peter Biro. Together with co-authors Christa Beckmann, Michael Crossland, Kaileigh Wright, Biro recently published a study called Roadkill reimagined, which seeks to advise scientists on how they might ‘take advantage of this source of animals for study’.
So, why do researchers like Biro recommend collecting roadkill for science? Let’s explore.
Roadkill is essentially the death of an animal that occurs due to impact from a car or other vehicle. Biro and colleagues also refer to this as ‘collision-associated mortality’.
According to Biro’s report, roadkill counts as ‘the third-largest human-induced cause of mortality for vertebrate animals globally,’ which is a terribly sad statistic. The cause is clear: roads now bisect the habitats of many animals and – as one report on Tasmanian roadkill suggests – drivers tend to hit animals more often during their active hours (like dawn and dusk) or when roads are close to water sources. According to Biro’s research, this is only likely toworsen.
‘Roads are being constructed at an increasing rate, with a predicted addition of at least 25 million km of new roads by 2050,’ the report states. ‘Therefore, the death rates associated with roadkilled wildlife, which are already bad, are likely to only get worse with time and expanding human populations.’
At face value, roadkill seems like a winnerless tragedy. As the research of Biro et al suggests, though, there may be some good that can come from devastating collision-associated mortalities.
Biro’s report suggests that if researchers can begin collecting roadkill for science, the wildlife loss won’t be for nothing — in fact, it will serve a crucial purpose in many areas of research.
Roadkill is particularly valuable for science. The researchers report that collecting roadkill can help scientists understand which species live in a certain area, how they feed, what diseases threaten their livelihoods, and what physical traits they exhibit. It can also be used as bait to attract target species.
The ‘Roadkill reimagined’ report calls roadkill ‘an ethical alternative to live animal sampling.’ In an article for Science, Biro’s co-author Christa Beckmann says of the ethics of roadkill:
‘For example, if you want to take a genetic sample, you don’t need to trap live animals or handle them, both of which can cause stress. It also takes an awful lot of time to design a study, to go through ethics review committees, to put out traps, and to handle an animal. Instead, you can just drive along the road and use samples of roadkill.’
Biro’s report suggests that there are broad benefits in collecting roadkill for scientific study, and that researchers should consider doing so. From the report:
‘We argue that roadkill is often viewed as a tragic loss but can be transformed into valuable and ethical opportunities for scientific research, contributing to our understanding of wildlife biology, ecology and conservation. We argue that there is likely to be considerable scope for increasing the use of roadkill in science, but especially in education and research training where specimens could be used frozen and defrosted for later use, or even taxidermized.’
For scientists, collecting roadkill is a fairly straightforward task – in most cases, they can simply take the animal if they find it, as long as they have the right permits to do so. For the rest of us, there are a few things we can do if we encounter roadkill in Australia.
Wildlife Victoria suggests that, if you see a ‘sick, injured, trapped or orphaned native animal’, you should call the provided hotline number. Local councils (like Nillumbik Shire and the City of Whittlesea) also often provide a contact number for injured or dead animals. In many cases, someone from the council will come and collect any reported roadkill.
It’s certainly worth remembering that, while roadkill might be useful for science and research purposes in some instances, it’s something the rest of us should be focused on reducing. So how do we prevent roadkill in the first place? Some easy steps include driving slower at night, preventing animal-attracting litter near roads, and being extra vigilant while driving during those active dawn and dusk hours.
Roadkill is generally not something to celebrate. The death of animals on our roads is further proof of the damage that humans cause to the natural world every day. But considering the close interplay of roads and animal species is unlikely to disappear anytime soon, it’s reassuring that at least some roadkill animals will not have died in vain.
With their research, Beckmann, Crossland, Wright and Biro have shown that collecting roadkill can be an invaluable source of knowledge for science. From providing ethical samples for study to revealing the secrets of a local ecosystem, there are plenty of benefits for researchers looking a little closer at roadkill.
Their hope is that, by demonstrating the uses of collecting roadkill for science, more researchers will make a positive out of something that is, otherwise, a far too regular tragedy.
Associate Professor,
Faculty of Science Engineering & Built Environment,
Deakin University
