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Wind turbines cause functional habitat loss for migratory soaring birds.
Marques, Ana T; Santos, Carlos D; Hanssen, Frank; Muñoz, Antonio-Román; Onrubia, Alejandro; Wikelski, Martin; Moreira, Francisco; Palmeirim, Jorge Manuel; Silva, João P.
Afiliação
  • Marques AT; cE3c - Centro de Ecologia, Evolução e Alterações Ambientais, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C2, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.
  • Santos CD; Centro de Ecologia Aplicada "Professor Baeta Neves" (CEABN), InBio, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
  • Hanssen F; REN Biodiversity Chair, CIBIO/InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal.
  • Muñoz AR; Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.
  • Onrubia A; Núcleo de Teoria e Pesquisa do Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil.
  • Wikelski M; Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway.
  • Moreira F; Biogeography, Diversity and Conservation Research Team, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
  • Palmeirim JM; Fundación Migres (CIMA), Cádiz, Spain.
  • Silva JP; Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.
J Anim Ecol ; 89(1): 93-103, 2020 01.
Article em En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30762229
Wind energy production has expanded to meet climate change mitigation goals, but negative impacts of wind turbines have been reported on wildlife. Soaring birds are among the most affected groups with alarming fatality rates by collision with wind turbines and an escalating occupation of their migratory corridors. These birds have been described as changing their flight trajectories to avoid wind turbines, but this behaviour may lead to functional habitat loss, as suitable soaring areas in the proximity of wind turbines will likely be underused. We modelled the displacement effect of wind turbines on black kites (Milvus migrans) tracked by GPS. We also evaluated the impact of this effect at the scale of the landscape by estimating how much suitable soaring area was lost to wind turbines. We used state-of-the-art tracking devices to monitor the movements of 130 black kites in an area populated by wind turbines, at the migratory bottleneck of the Strait of Gibraltar. Landscape use by birds was mapped from GPS data using dynamic Brownian bridge movement models, and generalized additive mixed modelling was used to estimate the effect of wind turbine proximity on bird use while accounting for orographic and thermal uplift availability. We found that areas up to approximately 674 m away from the turbines were less used than expected given their uplift potential. Within that distance threshold, bird use decreased with the proximity to wind turbines. We estimated that the footprint of wind turbines affected 3%-14% of the areas suitable for soaring in our study area. We present evidence that the impacts of wind energy industry on soaring birds are greater than previously acknowledged. In addition to the commonly reported fatalities, the avoidance of turbines by soaring birds causes habitat losses in their movement corridors. Authorities should recognize this further impact of wind energy production and establish new regulations that protect soaring habitat. We also showed that soaring habitat for birds can be modelled at a fine scale using publicly available data. Such an approach can be used to plan low-impact placement of turbines in new wind energy developments.
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Texto completo: 1 Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Aves / Voo Animal Limite: Animals Idioma: En Revista: J Anim Ecol Ano de publicação: 2020 Tipo de documento: Article País de afiliação: Portugal

Texto completo: 1 Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Aves / Voo Animal Limite: Animals Idioma: En Revista: J Anim Ecol Ano de publicação: 2020 Tipo de documento: Article País de afiliação: Portugal