Understanding spatio-temporal patterns of animal-vehicle collisions is a crucial step for the implementation of efficient mitigation measures of this worldwide threat against biodiversity. In this study we investigated vertebrate road-kills in a pre-Saharan area in southern Tunisia. In particular, we assessed how road mortality varied according to land cover and season. From February 2019 to January 2020, a road section crossing three land cover types (desert, oasis and urban areas) was monitored twice a week for the survey of road-killed vertebrates. There was about one animal killed per 10 km and per day. Birds were the vertebrate class most affected by road-kills. Mammals constituted a non-negligible part of recorded road-kills and were mainly represented by stray cats and dogs. The highest rate of vertebrate road-kill was recorded in oases, which was expected given the higher abundance of animals in these densely-vegetated areas compared to desert and urban areas. The peak road mortality was recorded in spring and early summer for birds, but in winter for mammals. In sum, our results reveal that vertebrate classes have different patterns of road mortality in the area studied. They also stress the need for urgent mitigation measures, especially inside oases.

了解动物与车辆碰撞的时空模式是实施有效缓解措施以应对这一全球生物多样性威胁的关键步骤。在这项研究中，我们调查了突尼斯南部前撒哈拉地区的脊椎动物道路死亡事件。特别是，我们评估了道路死亡率如何根据土地覆盖和季节而变化。2019 年 2 月至 2020 年 1 月，对穿越三种土地覆盖类型（沙漠、绿洲和市区）的路段进行了每周两次监测，以进行道路死亡脊椎动物调查。每 10 公里和每天大约有一只动物被杀死。鸟类是受道路死亡影响最大的脊椎动物。在记录的道路死亡事件中，哺乳动物占不可忽视的一部分，主要以流浪猫和狗为代表。在绿洲中记录的脊椎动物道路死亡率最高，考虑到与沙漠和城市地区相比，这些植被密集地区的动物数量更高，这是预料之中的。鸟类在春季和初夏的道路死亡率最高，而哺乳动物则在冬季。总而言之，我们的结果表明，脊椎动物类别在研究区域具有不同的道路死亡率模式。他们还强调需要采取紧急缓解措施，尤其是在绿洲内。