Introduction
Ecuador is a small (283,561 km²) but highly biodiverse country hosting two biodiversity hotspots: Choco/Darien/Western Ecuador and Tropical Andes (considered to have the highest richness and endemism of vertebrates species of the planet; Myers et al., 2000). Approximately 659 species of amphibians species (Ron et al. , 2021), 500 reptiles (Torres-Carvajal et al. , 2022), 1699 birds (Freile & Poveda, 2019), and 466 mammals (Brito et al. , 2021) have been described in Ecuador. Likely, these numbers are highly underestimated as new species are still regularly identified (e.g., Leonan et al., 2022; Guayasamin et al., 2022; Brito et al., 2022) and cryptic species are probably common (Funk et al. , 2012). Ecuador is also a highly anthropized country transected by more than 16,647 km of primary and secondary roads (Meijer et al. , 2018) and a recent studied estimated 420,861 birds and 119,599 mammals are roadkilled in Ecuador each year (Medrano-Vizcaíno et al. , 2022). Additionally, with a further 1,555 km of new roads planned by 2030 (MTOP, 2016), roadkill numbers are predicted to increase by 9.3% (Medrano-Vizcaíno et al. , 2022). High road mortality, high biodiversity, and limited information have contributed to propose this territory as a priority for road ecology research (Medrano-Vizcaíno et al. in rev.). Indeed, systematic research (i.e., theses, and scientific papers) focused on wildlife mortality on roads is rare in this country. To our knowledge, the first study of this type was conducted in 2007, in the Galápagos Islands, but focused on a single species, the Galápagos lava lizard (Microlophus albemarlensis ) (Tanner & Perry, 2007). The first study in continental Ecuador was conducted in 2014 (covering all tetrapods) (Medrano-Vizcaíno, 2015). Although a few additional studies have been published since then (González, 2018; Aguilar et al. , 2019; Filius et al. , 2020; García-Carrasco et al. , 2020; Zavala, 2020; Gaón & Valdez, 2021; Armendáriz, 2022), research is still limited. This paucity of road impact assessments is common to all Latin America (Pinto et al. , 2020), and poses a great challenge to assess potential threats for biodiversity.
Understanding the effects of roads on wildlife populations is key for conservation plans that include mitigation of current impacts, and to assess risk and inform the planning of future roads. However, conducting systematic roadkill surveys is costly and requires funding for fieldwork, which can be scarce or unavailable in developing countries. The continuous advancement of technology and internet access has provided the opportunity for new ways to gather data with citizens being involved in science projects as active collaborators. Citizen science is a valuable approach that engages diverse people, and offer a way to obtain field data without high costs (e.g., Mueller et al., 2019; Medrano-Vizcaíno et al., 2020). Data on road impacts obtained from citizen science projects can complement systematic surveys. Indeed, several citizen science projects have collected roadkill data and contributed to inform about the magnitude of road impacts on wildlife in different parts of the world (see Chyn et al., 2019; Périquet et al., 2018; Raymond et al., 2021; Swinnen et al., 2022; Valerio et al., 2021). Moreover, involving the public with the collection of roadkill data offers an opportunity to provide environmental education and awareness in local communities (Vercayie & Herremans, 2015), which could significantly contribute to reduce wildlife mortality on roads.
The scarce and disperse information on road impacts in Ecuador has limited the potential to identify the areas and species most affected and likely has prevented the development of environmental policies to require consideration of road impacts during the planning of new infrastructures. As a first step to address the knowledge gap, we present a national database consisting of >5000 roadkill records from systematic studies and non-systematic methods representing 454 wild species. Analysing this database, we identify species with high mortality that may require protection measures, and reveal unstudied areas (research gaps) where citizen and scientific efforts are needed to best understand the impacts of roads on Ecuadorian wildlife. Compiling this data required collaboration among citizens and academics. We hope to raise awareness of the issue of road impacts on wildlife in Ecuador and encourage policy makers and researchers to work together to collect needed data to guide conservation plans and sustainable roads.