Peaks in bat activity at turbines and the implications for mitigating the impact of wind energy developments on bats

Abstract Wind turbines are a relatively new threat to bats, causing mortalities worldwide. Reducing these fatalities is essential to ensure that the global increase in wind-energy facilities can occur with minimal impact on bat populations. Although individual bats have been observed approaching win...

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Autores principales:	Suzanne M. Richardson, Paul R. Lintott, David J. Hosken, Theo Economou, Fiona Mathews
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/795172de8ed54b3d9f0a45e6fbe926a8
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:795172de8ed54b3d9f0a45e6fbe926a82021-12-02T14:11:31ZPeaks in bat activity at turbines and the implications for mitigating the impact of wind energy developments on bats10.1038/s41598-021-82014-92045-2322https://doaj.org/article/795172de8ed54b3d9f0a45e6fbe926a82021-02-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82014-9https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Wind turbines are a relatively new threat to bats, causing mortalities worldwide. Reducing these fatalities is essential to ensure that the global increase in wind-energy facilities can occur with minimal impact on bat populations. Although individual bats have been observed approaching wind turbines, and fatalities frequently reported, it is unclear whether bats are actively attracted to, indifferent to, or repelled by, the turbines at large wind-energy installations. In this study, we assessed bat activity at paired turbine and control locations at 23 British wind farms. The research focussed on Pipistrellus species, which were by far the most abundant bats recorded at these sites. P. pipistrellus activity was 37% higher at turbines than at control locations, whereas P. pygmaeus activity was consistent with no attraction or repulsion by turbines. Given that more than 50% of bat fatalities in Europe are P. pipistrellus, these findings help explain why Environmental Impact Assessments conducted before the installation of turbines are poor predictors of actual fatality rates. They also suggest that operational mitigation (minimising blade rotation in periods of high collision risk) is likely to be the most effective way to reduce collisions because the presence of turbines alters bat activity.Suzanne M. RichardsonPaul R. LintottDavid J. HoskenTheo EconomouFiona MathewsNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-6 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Suzanne M. Richardson Paul R. Lintott David J. Hosken Theo Economou Fiona Mathews Peaks in bat activity at turbines and the implications for mitigating the impact of wind energy developments on bats
description	Abstract Wind turbines are a relatively new threat to bats, causing mortalities worldwide. Reducing these fatalities is essential to ensure that the global increase in wind-energy facilities can occur with minimal impact on bat populations. Although individual bats have been observed approaching wind turbines, and fatalities frequently reported, it is unclear whether bats are actively attracted to, indifferent to, or repelled by, the turbines at large wind-energy installations. In this study, we assessed bat activity at paired turbine and control locations at 23 British wind farms. The research focussed on Pipistrellus species, which were by far the most abundant bats recorded at these sites. P. pipistrellus activity was 37% higher at turbines than at control locations, whereas P. pygmaeus activity was consistent with no attraction or repulsion by turbines. Given that more than 50% of bat fatalities in Europe are P. pipistrellus, these findings help explain why Environmental Impact Assessments conducted before the installation of turbines are poor predictors of actual fatality rates. They also suggest that operational mitigation (minimising blade rotation in periods of high collision risk) is likely to be the most effective way to reduce collisions because the presence of turbines alters bat activity.
format	article
author	Suzanne M. Richardson Paul R. Lintott David J. Hosken Theo Economou Fiona Mathews
author_facet	Suzanne M. Richardson Paul R. Lintott David J. Hosken Theo Economou Fiona Mathews
author_sort	Suzanne M. Richardson
title	Peaks in bat activity at turbines and the implications for mitigating the impact of wind energy developments on bats
title_short	Peaks in bat activity at turbines and the implications for mitigating the impact of wind energy developments on bats
title_full	Peaks in bat activity at turbines and the implications for mitigating the impact of wind energy developments on bats
title_fullStr	Peaks in bat activity at turbines and the implications for mitigating the impact of wind energy developments on bats
title_full_unstemmed	Peaks in bat activity at turbines and the implications for mitigating the impact of wind energy developments on bats
title_sort	peaks in bat activity at turbines and the implications for mitigating the impact of wind energy developments on bats
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/795172de8ed54b3d9f0a45e6fbe926a8
work_keys_str_mv	AT suzannemrichardson peaksinbatactivityatturbinesandtheimplicationsformitigatingtheimpactofwindenergydevelopmentsonbats AT paulrlintott peaksinbatactivityatturbinesandtheimplicationsformitigatingtheimpactofwindenergydevelopmentsonbats AT davidjhosken peaksinbatactivityatturbinesandtheimplicationsformitigatingtheimpactofwindenergydevelopmentsonbats AT theoeconomou peaksinbatactivityatturbinesandtheimplicationsformitigatingtheimpactofwindenergydevelopmentsonbats AT fionamathews peaksinbatactivityatturbinesandtheimplicationsformitigatingtheimpactofwindenergydevelopmentsonbats
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Peaks in bat activity at turbines and the implications for mitigating the impact of wind energy developments on bats

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