Szabolcs, M., E. Mizsei, B. Mester & S. Lengyel

Male-biased road mortality of eastern green lizards (Lacerta viridis) in Northeast Hungary. pp. 263-266.

Abstract. During dispersal, individuals take risks by leaving their familiar home range, possibly resulting in their increased mortality. We studied road mortality of lizards in NE Hungary on 58 km of roads once every two weeks for two years. We found that almost all of the roadkills were adult male eastern Green Lizards, while other species, age groups and sexes were rarely involved. Mortality predominantly occurred in May and June, which is congruent with the reproductive season of the species and increased mate searching dispersal of males. Roadside land use types had no effect, but traffic volume positively affected mortality. Road mortality remained low during the study period and we assume that it is not a conservation problem in this lizard assemblage.

Key words. Reptilia, roadkill, sex ratio, mate search, dispersal, sexual dimorphism, traffic volume, land use.