Amphibian Roadkill Investigation in the Qinling Mountains Instantly After a Night-rain in Summer

<p indent="0mm">Roadkill has become a pivotal issue in the global decline of amphibian populations. Conventional research methods have typically relied on the examination of dried carcasses found long after wildlife-vehicle collisions, which influnce the accuracy of the taxonomic classification and assessment of roadkill rates. To overcome these limitations, we conducted a nocturnal survey on National Road G108 in the Qinling Mountains immediately following a night rainstorm in July 2016. We employed molecular techniques to distinguish species that are morphologically identical but share overlapping habitats. Our investigation revealed that within five hours, 92 amphibians from five different species were documented across three 2-km road transects. Among these, 31 individuals were identified as roadkill, resulting in an overall rate of 33%, or roughly five fatalities per kilometer. Significantly, the mountain stream frogs <italic>Nanorana quadranus</italic> and <italic>N</italic>. <italic>taihangnica</italic> comprised 40.2% and 30.4% of the total individuals observed, with mortality rates of 35.1% and 25.0%, respectively. We found no significant variation in mortality rates between different age groups or genders for either species. Our research suggests that conducting surveys at night, immediately following summer rainstorms, is an efficient strategy for evaluating the impacts of roadkill. The post-rain foraging behaviors and the dispersal of juveniles are key factors contributing to road crossings outside of the breeding season. Consequently, this study recommends that traffic authorities in mountainous areas take measures to reduce vehicle traffic following summer rainstorms in order to minimize the threat to amphibian lives.