Faunal mortality from roadkill has a negative impact on global biodiversity, and bats are among the roadkilled animals. In South America, the Atlantic Forest covers southeastern Brazil, a region which sustains a large bat diversity. In this biome, the Sooretama reserves are crossed by the federal highway BR-101, one of the busiest in Brazil. We analyzed bats roadkilled along the 25 km stretch of highway that crosses the Sooretama reserves. Data were collected between the years 2010 and 2015. In total, 773 individuals distributed among 47 bat species were roadkilled during this period. The insectivorous feeding guild was the most affected, accounting for 25 species and 74% of the recorded roadkill, and those flying in the open area were the most frequently roadkilled (41.9%). Bat mortality rates did not differ between months of the year. However, the relation between rainy days and roadkill was negative. Monitoring by foot was more efficient than by car for detection of bat carcasses. Radars with a speed limit below 60 km/h reduced the rates of roadkill. The diversity of deceased bats found in this study represents 40% of the known species in the Atlantic Forest, and is the largest among current studies of species killed on highways globally. The present study raises concerns about the high diversity and abundance of roadkilled insectivorous bats and the conservation of these animals in the Neotropical region.

Highways limit the movement and dispersion of wild animals and contribute to their loss due to roadkills, leading to the isolation and decline of populations, increasing the risk of local extinction. The Lowland Tapir Tapirus terrestris is the largest neotropical herbivore-frugivore, and despite its wide distribution in South America it is threatened with extinction. In this study we report six roadkill events of tapirs between 2014 and 2019 in a section of a federal highway crossing the mosaic of Atlantic Forest reserves called Sooretama, one of the last tapir refuges in southeastern Brazil. The traffic in this area is heavy with inadequate speed control, while exotic fruit trees growing along the highway attract wild animals. Water drainage tunnels serve as passageways for some species, including tapirs. However, the tunnels located under the highway are not continuously maintained, reducing its effectiveness. The loss of at least one tapir per year can have serious long-term consequences for one of the last viable lowland tapir populations in the entire Atlantic Forest. Emergency measures are required to avoid vehicle-tapir collisions.

The selection of strategic conservation areas is a complex undertaking that requires the integration of various elements, including planning, indicators, and mapping. An extensive evaluation of vertebrate distribution patterns in Espírito Santo state, southern Brazil, revealed the existence of four consensus areas defined by two endemicity methods that can be designated as priority regions for multitaxa conservation. A brief remark is made regarding the importance of endemic areas and biogeographic units in the definition of priority areas for conservation.

O DNA barcoding (código de barras de DNA) é uma técnica muito utilizada em estudos genéticos com animais que utiliza iniciadores universais para amplificar uma região específica do DNA mitocondrial. Esta técnica propicia a identificação de espécies que são encontradas muito danificadas, cuja identificação morfológica é praticamente impossível, principalmente de espécies de pequeno porte. O presente trabalho utilizou o DNA barcoding para a identificação de 33 amostras de espécies de morcegos atropeladas na Reserva Biológica de Sooretama-ES, uma região que tem um grande impacto, devido aos atropelamento causado pelo constante tráfego de carros que passam pela BR 101 que corta transversalmente a mesma. Para a identificação dos animais foi feita uma extração do DNA das amostras, e a subunidade I do gene COI do DNA mitocondrial foi amplificado por PCR, sendo em seguida sequenciado. Posteriormente, as amostras identificadas foram confrontadas no banco de dados BOLD. Foram selecionadas 33 amostras de DNA, e 27 dessas renderam sequenciamento adequado que permitiram a identificação dos animais, após o confronto das sequências de nucleotídeos geradas com o banco de dados BOLD. Deste modo, 17 espécies de morcegos foram identificadas.