Mitigation of anthropogenic climate change involves deployments of renewable energy worldwide, including wind farms, which can pose a significant collision risk to volant animals. Most studies into the collision risk between species and wind turbines, however, have taken place in industrialized countries. Potential effects for many locations and species therefore remain unclear. To redress this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review of recorded collisions between birds and bats and wind turbines within developed countries. We related collision rate to species-level traits and turbine characteristics to quantify the potential vulnerability of 9538 bird and 888 bat species globally. Avian collision rate was affected by migratory strategy, dispersal distance and habitat associations, and bat collision rates were influenced by dispersal distance. For birds and bats, larger turbine capacity (megawatts) increased collision rates; however, deploying a smaller number of large turbines with greater energy output reduced total collision risk per unit energy output, although bat mortality increased again with the largest turbines. Areas with high concentrations of vulnerable species were also identified, including migration corridors. Our results can therefore guide wind farm design and location to reduce the risk of large-scale animal mortality. This is the first quantitative global assessment of the relative collision vulnerability of species groups with wind turbines, providing valuable guidance for minimizing potentially serious negative impacts on biodiversity.
This study is the first, to our knowledge, to demonstrate that an intensive dietary program has the potential to improve the iron status of women with iron deficiency.
Inclusion of intensive relaxation response training in a nondieting program for overweight women enhanced stress management and medical symptoms outcomes but not weight outcomes.
Differing environmental conditions can have profound effects on many behaviours in animals, especially where species have large geographic ranges. Seasonal changes or progression through life history stages impose differential constraints, leading to changes in behaviours. Furthermore, species which show flexibility in behaviours, may have a higher capacity to adapt to anthropogenic‐induced changes to their environment. The red‐throated diver (RTD) is an aquatic bird, that is able to forage in both freshwater and marine environments, though little else is known about its behaviours and its capacity to adapt to different environmental conditions. Here, we use time‐depth recorders and saltwater immersion loggers to examine the foraging behaviour of RTDs from three regions across northwest Europe. We found that in the breeding season, birds from two regions (Iceland and Scotland) foraged in the marine environment, while birds from Finland, foraged predominantly in freshwater. Most of the differences in diving characteristics were at least partly explained by differences in foraging habitat. Additionally, while time spent foraging did not change through the breeding season, dives generally became more pelagic and less benthic over the season, suggesting RTDs either switched prey or followed vertical prey movements, rather than increasing foraging effort. There was a preference for foraging in daylight over crepuscular hours, with a stronger effect at two of the three sites. Overall, we provide the first investigation of RTD foraging and diving behaviour from multiple geographic regions and demonstrate variation in foraging strategies in this generalist aquatic predator, most likely due to differences in their local environment.
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