Roads constitute just 1% of the total land in the US, but their impacts on wildlife are significant and far-reaching. Snakes are particularly susceptible to road mortality because many species do not avoid crossing roads, may use the road’s surface to thermoregulate, or freeze when approached by a vehicle. We conducted opportunistic surveys to collect road mortality points for snakes in southeastern Ohio over 15 years (2003–2018). We used logistic regression to predict roadkill hotspots and evaluate variables that influence road mortality. The species most frequently found dead on roads were Black Ratsnakes (Pantherophis spiloides), Northern Black Racers (Coluber constrictor), Eastern Gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis), and Rough Greensnakes (Opheodrys aestivus). Across the 14 snake species we recorded dead on roads, percent pasture within a 100 m buffer of the roadkill point, township route, county route, and state route were all negative predictors of road mortality. All surveys started in Athens, Ohio, and distance to roadkill locations was a positive predictor for road mortality. These results indicate that high-traffic roads pose a risk to snake populations, but that mortality also occurs on low-traffic roads as well. Our top model showed that low levels of pasture embedded in other land cover types was an important predictor of roadkill, suggesting that edge habitat contributes to snake road mortality. Because road mortality does not seem to be localized, road mortality mitigation structures such as underpasses and fences may have limited benefits for snake populations in our study area. The creation of edge habitat away from roads could provide snakes with necessary habitat without increasing their risk of mortality.

道路仅占美国总土地的1％，但对野生动植物的影响却是巨大而深远的。蛇特别容易受到道路死亡的影响，因为许多物种无法避免过马路，可能会利用道路表面进行温度调节，或者在车辆驶近时结冰。我们进行了机会主义调查，以收集15年来（2003年至2018年）俄亥俄州东南部蛇的道路死亡点。我们使用逻辑回归来预测道路杀伤热点，并评估影响道路死亡率的变量。最常发现在道路上死亡的物种是黑响尾蛇（Pantherophis spiloides），北部黑种人（Coluber收缩），东部Gar鱼（Thamnophis sirtalis）和粗糙的绿蛇（Rake Greensnakes）。欧菲草）。在我们记录的14种蛇种中，道路死亡，道路杀伤点，乡镇路线，县级路线和州路线的100 m缓冲区内的牧场百分比都是道路死亡率的负面预测因素。所有调查均始于俄亥俄州的雅典，距道路杀伤地点的距离对道路死亡率具有积极的预测作用。这些结果表明，高通行道路对蛇群构成威胁，但低通行道路上也会发生死亡。我们的顶级模型表明，嵌入其他土地覆盖类型的低水平牧场是道路杀灭的重要预测指标，表明边缘栖息地会导致蛇路死亡。由于道路死亡率似乎并不局限于本地，因此降低道路死亡率的结构（例如地下通道和围墙）可能对我们研究区域的蛇群没有太大的好处。