The Ornithodolite as a tool to quantify animal space use and habitat selection: a case study with birds diving in tidal waters

Cole, Emma-Louise; Waggitt, James J.; Hedenström, Anders; Piano, Marco; Holton, Mark D.; Börger, Luca; Shepard, Emily L. C.

doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12327

Cited by 16 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…2017, Cole et al . 2019). Environmental variables and bird flight characteristics can also further influence the resolution and precision of data (May et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2015, see also Cole et al . 2019). Validation of measurements was considered to have been undertaken if testing was carried out to ascertain whether the sensor’s accuracy was in line with manufacturer guidelines.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2017, Cole et al . 2019) and the characteristics of the tracking environment (Kelly et al . 2009, May et al .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2018a 2018b, Cole et al . 2019, Péron et al . 2020).…”

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Methods to quantify avian airspace use in relation to wind energy development

Largey

Cook

Thaxter

et al. 2021

Ibis

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It is likely that there will continue to be a substantial increase in the number of wind turbines as we aim to meet global energy demands through renewable sources. However, these structures can have adverse impacts on airborne wildlife, such as posing a potential collision risk with the turbine structure. A range of methods and technologies have been applied to the collection of bird flight parameters, such as height and speed, to improve the estimation of potential collision compared with traditional visual methods, but these are currently not applied in a consistent and systematic way. To this end, a systematic literature search was conducted to (1) examine the methods and technologies that can be used to provide bird flight data to assess the impact of wind energy developments and (2) provide an updated framework to guide how they might be most usefully applied within the impact assessment process. Four empirical measurement methods were found that improve the estimation of bird flight parameters: radar, telemetry, ornithodolite and LiDAR. These empirical sensor‐based tools were typically more often applied in academic peer‐reviewed papers than in report‐based environmental statements. Where sensor‐based tools have been used in the report‐based literature, their inconsistent application has resulted in an uncertain regulatory environment for practitioners. Our framework directly incorporates sensor‐based methods, together with their limitations and data requirements, from pre‐deployment of infrastructure to post‐consent monitoring of impacts. This revised approach will help improve the accuracy of estimation of bird flight parameters for ornithological assessment of wind energy. Sensor‐based tools may not be the most cost‐effective. However, a precedent has been set for wind energy development consent refusal based on ornithological impact assessment, and therefore the cost of collecting accurate and reliable flight data may be balanced favourably against the cost of development consent refusal.

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“…2017, Cole et al . 2019). Environmental variables and bird flight characteristics can also further influence the resolution and precision of data (May et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Methods to quantify avian airspace use in relation to wind energy development

Largey

Cook

Thaxter

et al. 2021

Ibis

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“…The maximum height of each section was reduced using a minimum distance of 15 m from the top of the cliff. This distance was the mean proximity of nests from the top of the cliffs for three major colonies, based on highly resolved theodolite measurements 49 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airflow modelling predicts seabird breeding habitat across islands

Lempidakis

Ross

Börger

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Wind is a fundamental driver of the distribution and energy expenditure of birds at sea. Wind can also influence mortality at the nest. Yet airflows have never been fully integrated into models of breeding habitat selection. We use computational fluid dynamics to provide the first assessment of whether and how airflows predict the distribution of seabird colonies, taking common guillemots (Uria aalge) breeding on Skomer island as our study system. We reveal that air pressure predicts occupancy, demonstrating the importance of exposure (rather than wind speed) in habitat selection. Our simple model with pressure and slope correctly identified 80% of the largest colonies and 93% of avoided sites. While previous approaches have not predicted space use in novel sites, our model predicted 73% of the largest colonies on a neighbouring island. This suggests generality in the mechanisms linking airflows and breeding distributions, and highlights a novel route by which seabirds may be affected by global change.

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Tidal streams, fish, and seabirds: Understanding the linkages between mobile predators, prey, and hydrodynamics

et al. 2022

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Driven by the necessity to decarbonize energy sources, many countries are targeting tidal stream environments for power generation. However, these areas can act as foraging hotspots for marine top predators, such as seabirds. Thus, it is important to understand the ecological interactions influencing predator behavior and distribution in these areas, to determine the potential ecological implications of marine renewable devices. This study used concurrent observations of foraging seabirds, physical hydrodynamics, and prey presence across a tidal stream environment, before and after the installation of a commercial turbine array close to the island of Stroma, Scotland. There were three main findings: First, benthic foraging seabirds showed a clear preference for certain sections around Stroma where sandeels were detected, while pelagic foraging seabirds were seen all around Stroma. Second, there was a positive effect of water velocity on the number of pelagic foragers and common guillemots. Third, there was a positive effect of the presence of fish schools on the number of pelagic seabirds and common guillemots, in both the same and the previous transects. Thus, it is possible that seabirds target areas of predictable food sources during periods where prey might be easily accessed (e.g., periods of fast flows). Given the difference in the distribution between seabird categories, it is likely that marine renewable devices will impact each category differently. We conclude that any impact on sandbank locations, sandeels preferred habitat, due to the presence of tidal turbines is likely to alter the distribution of benthic foraging seabirds. For pelagic foraging seabirds and common guillemot, changes in prey presence and accessibility (depth and level of aggregation/disaggregation) will have a stronger effect on seabird presence. This study highlights the need to include concurrent physical and biological data when assessing the ecological impacts of tidal turbines.

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The Ornithodolite as a tool to quantify animal space use and habitat selection: a case study with birds diving in tidal waters

Cited by 16 publications

References 70 publications

Methods to quantify avian airspace use in relation to wind energy development

Methods to quantify avian airspace use in relation to wind energy development

Airflow modelling predicts seabird breeding habitat across islands

Tidal streams, fish, and seabirds: Understanding the linkages between mobile predators, prey, and hydrodynamics

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