Combining radar and direct observation to estimate pelican collision risk at a proposed wind farm on the Cape west coast, South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Pre-construction assessments of bird collision risk at proposed wind farms are often confounded by insufficient or poor quality data describing avian flight paths through the development area. These limitations can compromise the practical value of wind farm impact studies. We used radar- and observer-based methods to quantify great white pelican flights in the vicinity of a planned wind farm on the Cape west coast, South Africa, and modelled turbine collision risk under various scenarios. Model outputs were combined with pre-existing demographic data to evaluate the possible influence of the wind farm on the pelican population, and to examine impact mitigation options. We recorded high volumes of great white pelican movement through the wind farm area, coincident with the breeding cycle o

SUBMITTER: Jenkins AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5800659 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature