Vehicle collisions with animals pose serious issues in countries with well-developed highway networks. Both expanding wildlife populations and the development of urbanised areas reduce the potential contact distance between wildlife species and vehicles. Many recent studies have been conducted to better understand the factors that influence wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) and provide mitigation methods. Most of these studies examined road density, traffic volume, seasonal fluctuations, etc. However, in analysing the distribution of WVC, few studies have considered a spatial and significant distance geostatistical analysis approach that includes how different land-use categories are associated with the distance to WVCs. Our study investigated the spatial distribution of agricultural land, meadows and pastures, forests, built-up areas, rivers, lakes, and ponds, to highlight the most dangerous sections of roadways where WVCs occur. We examined six potential ‘hot spot’ distances (5–10–25–50–100–200 m) to evaluate the role different landscape elements play in the occurrence of WVC. The near analysis tool showed that a distance of 10–25 m to different landscape elements provided the most sensitive results. Hot spots associated with agricultural land, forests, as well as meadows and pastures, peaked on roadways in close proximity (10 m), while hot spots associated with built-up areas, rivers, lakes, and ponds peaked on roadways farther (200 m) from these land-use types. We found that the order of habitat importance in WVC hot spots was agricultural land < forests < meadows and pastures < built-up areas < rivers < lakes and ponds. This methodological approach includes general hot-spot analysis as well as differentiated distance analysis which helps to better reveal the influence of landscape structure on WVCs.

Saproxylic insects of the infraorders Bibionomorpha and Tipulomorpha (Diptera) are ecologically important components of forest ecosystems, associated with dead wood and contributing to nutrient cycling and food webs. Despite their diversity, the influence of climatic variables on saproxylic nematoceran communities remains poorly understood. This study examined the effects of precipitation, air temperature, and relative humidity on the abundance, species richness, and diversity of saproxylic nematoceran flies in three Lithuanian nature reserves from 2016 to 2020. In total, 793 specimens representing 10 families were collected using trunk-emergence traps. Statistical models showed that precipitation was significantly positively associated with species richness, total abundance, and Shannon’s diversity, whereas temperature and humidity were excluded as non-significant predictors. These results highlight precipitation as a key environmental driver shaping saproxylic fly assemblages and suggest potential sensitivity of these communities to reduced moisture availability under future climate change scenarios.

Animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs) are an increasing concern globally, yet domesticated animals, particularly dogs, remain understudied. We investigated spatial and temporal patterns of dog-vehicle collisions (DVCs) in Lithuania. Landscape variables such as distance to buildings, forests, meadows, and arable land, as well as land cover composition within a 500 m radius, were analyzed using GIS and compared to randomly generated pseudo-absence points. Temporal patterns were analyzed monthly, daily, and hourly. There was a significant difference in the number of DVCs occurring at sunrise and sunset. Moreover, DVCs were more frequent on weekends, peaking on Fridays and Sundays. Spatially, DVCs were significantly more likely to occur closer to built-up areas and meadows, and farther from forests and arable land, compared to random pseudo-absences, indicating a strong association with human-modified habitats. These findings indicate that DVCs are more influenced by human-modified landscapes and dog activity patterns, particularly around dawn and dusk.