Impact of the traffic on a population of European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) inhabiting heavily urbanized area at the city of Burgas

We report on the impact of vehicle traffic on a local population of European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) inhabiting the city of Burgas (Bulgaria). We performed a six-year monitoring program to collect data on the presence of turtles on road E 87 in the south region of the city. The road section splits a Natura 2000 site and crosses through an artificial water basin with fresh to brackish water. We visited the road section in irregular intervals from 3 to over 20 days in the period March to October from 2016 to 2021. For the period of the monitoring, we were able to detect a total of over 300 specimens from all ontogenetic stages (33 juveniles, 74 subadults and 224 adults). During our field surveys in 2016, we detected a total of 47 live and 23 dead adults. In the next years, we found more dead adult turtles than live ones. Similar results were recorded for subadults. In the juveniles, the dead specimens were almost equal to those which were detected alive. Our results indicate an impact of the traffic on the local population of E. orbicularis. We discuss the design and position of constructions, which can mitigate the conflict and reduce the potential for Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC).