Prioritizing Avian Species for Their Risk of Population-Level Consequences from Wind Energy Development.

ABSTRACT: Recent growth in the wind energy industry has increased concerns about its impacts on wildlife populations. Direct impacts of wind energy include bird and bat collisions with turbines whereas indirect impacts include changes in wildlife habitat and behavior. Although many species may withstand these effects, species that are long-lived with low rates of reproduction, have specialized habitat preferences, or are attracted to turbines may be more prone to declines in population abundance. We developed a prioritization system to identify the avian species most likely to experience population declines from wind facilities based on their current conservation status and their expected risk from turbines. We developed 3 metrics of turbine risk that incorporate data on collision fatalities at wind

SUBMITTER: Beston JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4786337 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature