Black kites of different age and sex show similar avoidance responses to wind turbines during migration

Citation
Santos CD, Ferraz R, Muñoz A, Onrubia A, Wikelski M. 2021. Black kites of different age and sex show similar avoidance responses to wind turbines during migration. Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.23n2m412/1
Abstract
Populations of soaring birds are often impacted by wind-power generation. Sex and age bias in turbine collisions can exacerbate these impacts through demographic changes that can lead to population decline or collapse. While several studies have reported sex and age differences in the number of soaring birds killed by turbines, it remains unclear if they result from different abundances or group-specific turbine avoidance behaviours, the latter having severer consequences. We investigated sex and age effects on turbine avoidance behaviour of black kites (Milvus migrans) during migration near the Strait of Gibraltar. We tracked the movements of 135 individuals with GPS data loggers in an area with high density of turbines and then modelled the effect of proximity of turbines on bird utilization distribution (UD). Both sexes and age classes showed similar patterns of displacement, with reduced UD values in the proximity of turbines and a clear peak at 700–850 m away, probably marking the distance at which most birds turn direction to avoid approaching the turbines further. The consistency of these patterns indicates that displacement range can be used as an accurate proxy for collision risk and habitat loss, and should be incorporated in environmental impact assessment studies.
Keywords
accelerometer, animal movement, animal tracking, avian migration, bio-logging, black kites, GPS loggers, habitat displacement, Milvus migrans, Strait of Gibralter, wind energy
Taxa
Sensors
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BibTex
@misc{001/1_23n2m412/1,
  title = {Black kites of different age and sex show similar avoidance responses to wind turbines during migration},
  author = {Santos, CD and Ferraz, R and Muñoz, A and Onrubia, A and Wikelski, M},
  year = {2021},
  URL = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.23n2m412/1},
  doi = {doi:10.5441/001/1.23n2m412/1},
  publisher = {Movebank data repository}
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
ID  - doi:10.5441/001/1.23n2m412/1
T1  - Black kites of different age and sex show similar avoidance responses to wind turbines during migration
AU  - Santos, Carlos David
AU  - Ferraz, Rafael
AU  - Muñoz, Antonio-Román
AU  - Onrubia, Alejandro
AU  - Wikelski, Martin
Y1  - 2021/01/24
KW  - accelerometer
KW  - animal movement
KW  - animal tracking
KW  - avian migration
KW  - bio-logging
KW  - black kites
KW  - GPS loggers
KW  - habitat displacement
KW  - Milvus migrans
KW  - Strait of Gibralter
KW  - wind energy
KW  - Milvus migrans
PB  - Movebank data repository
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.23n2m412/1
DO  - doi:10.5441/001/1.23n2m412/1
ER  - 
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