Road traffic mortality of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) associated with landscpae, weather and behaviour

Abstract

In 78 districts of North-West Germany, comprising a hunting area of 5.3 million ha, the percentage mortality of roe deer and the number of deaths per 1,000 ha as a result of road traffic accidents were estimated. Both estimates were used in principal component analyses with seven variables of land use in each year from 1989/90 to 1998/99. There were percentages of the hunting area, which was woodland, grain, maize, root crops, pasture, water and roadways per 1000 ha. The loading values from four components were consolidated. graphically in ecolodiagrams for the ten-year period. The deviations of component curve values in 1994/95 led to a correlation of two 10-year time series of the percentage of road deaths with the monthly weather conditions: temperature in degreesC, precipitation in mm, sunshine. hours and dull days (foggy, misty). The oscillations in the road kill series were positively associated with dull days and negatively associated with sunshine hours in January. Similar correlation coefficients, to those in January, were observed for the months of March, June and July. In May precipitation was negatively correlated with road traffic accident mortality and in July higher temperatures had a similar effect. In the month of December an increase in the number of dull days and precipitation were predictors of an increase in road traffic accident mortality.