Wherever wildlife habitat and roadways overlap, roadkill seems inevitable. Observing and recording carcasses resulting from wildlife‐vehicle collisions (WVC) provides data critical for sustainable transportation planning and species distribution mapping. Across the world, systems have been created to record WVC observations by researchers, highway maintenance workers, law officers, wildlife agency staff, insurers and volunteers. These wildlife/roadkill observation systems (WROS) can include mobile recording devices for data collection, a website for data management and visualisation and social media to reinforce reporting activity.
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The specific purpose and goals of the WROS may vary among systems but should always be clearly defined.
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Extensive social networks are needed for comprehensive observation systems.
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Adopt a methodical approach to developing a WROS.
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Analysis and visualisation of data collected within a WROS should correspond to the goals of the system.
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Address issues in reporter bias by using standardised data collection methods or post hoc analyses.
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The advantages and disadvantages of opportunistic and targeted data collection must be carefully considered when developing a WROS.
Volunteer science and web‐based information tools have advanced to the point where transportation or wildlife agencies and their allies can develop, support or implement WROS to improve the sustainability of transportation systems. However, while numerous WROS have been developed and implemented around the world, the full potential of many systems has not been realised because they were not developed or maintained according to the basic principles outlined in this chapter. We provide suggestions and guidance useful for updating existing systems and developing new ones.