Habitat use of bats in relation to wind turbines revealed by GPS tracking

Abstract

Worldwide, many countries aim at countering global climate change by promoting renewable energy. Yet, recent studies highlight that so-called green energy, such as wind energy, may come at environmental costs, for example when wind turbines kill birds and bats. Using miniaturized GPS loggers, we studied how an open-space foraging bat with high collision risk with wind turbines, the common noctule Nyctalus noctula (Schreber, 1774), interacts with wind turbines. We compared actual flight trajectories to correlated random walks to identify habitat variables explaining the movements of bats. Both sexes preferred wetlands but used conventionally managed cropland less than expected based on availability. During midsummer, females traversed the land on relatively long flight paths and repeatedly came close to wind turbines. Their flight heights above ground suggested a high risk of colliding with wind turbines. In contrast, males recorded in early summer commuted straight between roosts and foraging areas and overall flew lower than the operating range of most turbine blades, suggesting a lower collision risk. Flight heights of bats suggest that during summer the risk of collision with wind turbines was high for most studied bats at the majority of currently installed wind turbines. For siting of wind parks, preferred bat habitats and commuting routes should be identified and avoided.

Circadian rhythms enable efficient resource selection in a human‐modified landscape

“…Female grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos ) were found near roads more frequently than expected compared to males, suggesting that female bear‐vehicle encounters are higher (Graham, Boulanger, Duval, & Stenhouse, ). Further, female common noctule bats ( Nyctalus noctule ) traversed the land close to wind turbines on long flight paths, whereas males used a straight route between roosts and foraging areas, lowering the risks of colliding with turbines (Roeleke, Blohm, Kramer‐Schadt, Yovel, & Voigt, ).…”

Principles and Patterns of Bat Movements: From Aerodynamics to Ecology

“…In this context, their interactions with a myriad of other organisms play a major role in evolutionary processes, as bats are important arthropod predators, seed dispersers, and pollinators worldwide (Kunz et al 2011;Fleming and Kress 2013). Some bat species have marked dietary preferences and need to or choose to fly long distances to find their favorite food (Tsoar et al 2011;Fahr et al 2015;Oleksy et al 2015;Abedi-Lartey et al 2016;Roeleke et al 2016). The sensory systems of bats, particularly their biosonar, used for moving in different habitats, may be a strong selective force on the dietary items they consume.…”

“…Schematic Picture of Two Contrasting Movement Patterns Observed in Common Noctule Bats (Nyctalus noctula) Suggested combined exploratory and foraging flight (A) and commuting flights with area restricted foraging at a resource dense patch (B). Modified fromRoeleke et al (2016). See the online edition for a color version of thisfigure.…”

Perspectives and challenges for the use of radar in biological conservation

“…While there has been a rapid development of telemetry and other advanced tracking and data logging technologies to study the movements of individuals in detail (Stutchbury et al 2009, Bridge et al 2011, Kissling et al 2014, O'Mara et al 2014, Roeleke et al 2016, Weller et al 2016, radar is still at the forefront with regards to comprehensiveness and the spatial and temporal extent of its applicability to aeroecological research on bats, birds and insects. Furthermore, the majority of insect species, and the smallest bats and birds, currently fall below the size threshold for the application of other long-range tracking technologies.…”