Trend Analysis of Roadkill Risk of the Amami Rabbit Using Maxent on Amamioshima Island

A trend analysis reveals that roadkill risk for the critically endangered Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) on Amami Oshima Island increases significantly from mountainous regions to coastal areas, with particularly high risk in coastal zones featuring major roads. This finding underscores the vulnerability of the species to human infrastructure, especially along key transportation routes. The study employed MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy Modeling) to identify high-risk areas and environmental factors contributing to roadkill events, addressing a critical gap in previous research that had not analyzed the island's entire territory. By mapping these risks, the research provides actionable insights for developing targeted conservation strategies to mitigate roadkill threats, which are rapidly escalating and pose a significant threat to the species' survival.

HIRAI, Y., NAKAJIMA, T., OMORI, R., SUETSUGU, Y., SUZUKI, M., & ITO, H. (2025). MaxEntを用いた奄美大島におけるアマミノクロウサギのロードキルリスクの経年分析. Japanese Journal of JSCE, 81(26), n. https://doi.org/10.2208/jscejj.25-26021