Factors influencing raccoon dog roadkills in the paddy-field dominated zone with landscape perspective

Abstract

Raccoon dog roadkills were recorded on a 35-km research route between Ami Town, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Narita City, Chiba Prefecture, on weekdays for 32 months. A total of 124 roadkills were recorded, most of which occurred in autumn. Approximately half of the roadkills occurred in the paddy-field dominated zone, which accounted for only 1/3 of the total route. We performed PLS regression to analyze the relationship between roadkill incidents and land use using GIS, and the results showed that the rates of paddy fields and residential areas with ≥30% vegetation had significant positive effects on the number of raccoon dog roadkills. In addition, in the paddy-field dominated zone, the roadkills occurred differently between the homogeneous region of the large-scale paddy fields and the complex region of the small-scale paddy fields with houses and woodlots, showing that landscape complexity affected when and where the raccoon dog roadkills occurred. In conclusion, seasonal behaviors such as dispersion, habitat selection, and landscape structure can affect raccoon dog roadkills.