 survivorship (a problem that still abounds)!
Roadkill isn’t just on major highways, it even extends to protected areas. The photo below, for example, was taken along a relatively quiet park road between Buescher and Bastrop State Parks in Bastrop County, Texas. During a spring field trip in 2009, there were hundreds of roadkill frogs along Park Road 11 (this is “protected” habitat, folks!). Interestingly, the frog carcasses were all dominated by red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) and could be facilitating the spread of these ants by providing convenient food supplies.
Unfortunately, Frogger isn't all fun and games. This particular individual made a meal for a colony of invasive red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta), potentially facilitating their spread. This photo was taken in a protected state park in Texas. Photo by H. Gillespie (2009).
So what’s being done about road mortality?
In a real-life examination of Frogger’s plight, Dr. Tom Langen and colleagues studied amphibian and reptile road mortality in upstate New York (reported in a 2009 article in the Journal of Wildlife Management). By simply recording when and where amphibian roadkill occurred, these scientists were able to identify “hotspots” of amphibian road mortality. These hotspots, mostly located where wetlands came within 100 meters of the road, can be used to determine where to place wildlife barriers, underground crossing tunnels and signs warning drivers to slow down and watch out. Knowledge of hotspots can even be used to predict and avoid where roadkill may be greatest when planning new roads.
All too often, however, the burden of “doing something” about roadkill falls to local citizens and organizations. For example, many citizen groups around the country have started amphibian crossing projects in their communities, to assist Frogger in crossing safely. Other groups also collect roadkill data through educational programs such as The Roadkill Project started by a professor from Simmons College in Boston to teach his students about wildlife and road mortality. Many state and regional programs throughout the country are now following the lead of the California Roadkill Observation System, by creating online networks for citizens and scientists alike to photograph, identify and map wildlife roadkill.
A handful of artists have made roadkill awareness their platform of choice including Pennsylvania photographer Joy Hunsberger, whose work focuses on portraits of roadkill animals, and University of Central Arkansas art instructor Carey Voss who constructs papier-mâché models of roadkill animals filled with wildflower seeds that she installs on country roads. Some artists are taking things even farther, including British artist Adam Morrigan who literally creates art out of roadkill near his home using indigenous methods of taxidermy. There are also some clever biocreative projects coming from groups such as the W.A.T.E.R. Institute at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in Sonoma County, California which produced the faux-news video below to raise awareness of the effects of roads on migrating California tiger salamanders. One of my favorite instances of Frogger-related biocreativity is from a couple of technology hackers who created a remote control Frogger with a Roomba vaccum cleaner and drove it across 6th Street during the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas back in 2006. I’m fairly certain it wasn’t in the name of roadkill awareness.
Interested in throwing your biocreative hat in the ring? Save The Frogs, a non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to amphibian conservation, hosts annual art and poetry contests to raise awareness of Frogger’s plight. The submission deadline is October 15, 2011. An entire page of the Save the Frogs website is dedicated to increasing awareness of the effects of roads on amphibians.
Getting back to Frogger, can popular video games be one way to increase science literacy? In this high-tech era it is becoming increasingly easy to design games and apps that could be used for this purpose. Perhaps there is a b