TY - JOUR
TI - Wind Turbine Fatalities Approach a Level of Concern in a Raptor Population
AU - Bellebaum, J
AU - Korner-Nievergelt, F
AU - Durr, T
AU - Mammen, U
T2 - Journal for Nature Conservation
AB - Mortality from collisions with increasing numbers of wind turbines is a potential hazard to raptor populations, but the actual effects on a population scale have rarely been studied based on field data. We estimated annual collision numbers for Red Kites Milvus milvus in the German federal state of Brandenburg (29,483 km2). A hierarchical model considering carcass persistence rate, searcher efficiency and the probability that a killed animal falls into a searched area was applied to results of carcass searches at 617 turbines. Collision risk varied significantly with season. The model estimated 308 (95% CrI 159–488) Red Kite fatalities at 3044 turbines operating during 2012, representing 3.1% of the estimated post-breeding population of 9972 individuals. Using the potential biological removal (PBR) method, mortality thresholds of 4.0% were obtained for migratory Red Kite populations. This level of mortality may be reached when turbine numbers increase within a few years. Since wind turbine collisions may affect Red Kites throughout the global range, a more detailed assessment of the actual impacts on populations is needed, especially because the PBR does not account for the predominance of adult birds among the collision victims.
DA - 2013/12//
PY - 2013
VL - 21
IS - 6
SP - 394
EP - 400
UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138113000538
DO - 10.1016/j.jnc.2013.06.001
LA - English
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Land-Based Wind
KW - Collision
KW - Birds
ER -