Informing wind energy development: Land cover and topography predict occupancy for Arizona bats.

ABSTRACT: Wind energy is a growing source of renewable energy with a 3-fold increase in use globally over the last decade. However, wind turbines cause bat mortality, especially for migratory species. The southwest United States has high bat species diversity and is an important area for migratory species, although little is known about their seasonal distribution. To examine potential risk to bats in areas proposed for wind energy development, we characterized bat occupancy spatially and temporally across northern Arizona, identifying use during summer when bats are reproductively active and fall during the migratory season. Our objectives were to determine occupancy of migratory species and species of greatest conservation need and develop a probability of occupancy map for species to identify are

SUBMITTER: Starbuck CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9165840 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature