Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines

Wind turbines are known to cause bat fatalities worldwide. Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents are a potential solution to reduce impacts on bats, but few experimental field studies have been conducted at utility scale wind energy facilities. Our objective was to assess effectiveness of a recently develo...

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Main Authors:	Sara P. Weaver, Cris D. Hein, Thomas R. Simpson, Jonah W. Evans, Ivan Castro-Arellano
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier 2020-12-01
Series:	Global Ecology and Conservation
Subjects:	Bat fatality Echolocation Impact reduction Ultrasonic acoustic deterrent Wind energy
Online Access:	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989420301827

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spelling	doaj-2413bd4e47824ea19848d377809982a62020-12-31T04:42:10ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942020-12-0124e01099Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbinesSara P. Weaver0Cris D. Hein1Thomas R. Simpson2Jonah W. Evans3Ivan Castro-Arellano4Bowman Consulting Group, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA; Biology Department, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA; Corresponding author. Bowman Consulting Group, 133 W. San Antonio St, Suite 500, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA.National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, 80401, USABiology Department, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USATexas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin, TX, 78744, USABiology Department, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USAWind turbines are known to cause bat fatalities worldwide. Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents are a potential solution to reduce impacts on bats, but few experimental field studies have been conducted at utility scale wind energy facilities. Our objective was to assess effectiveness of a recently developed deterrent for reducing bat fatalities at wind turbines in southern Texas, USA. We quantified fatalities at control (deterrents off) and treatment (deterrents on) wind turbines from 31 July through 30 October in 2017 and 2018, and assessed deterrent effectiveness using generalized linear mixed models. Our results indicate deterrents significantly reduced bat fatalities for Lasiurus cinereus and Tadarida brasiliensis by 78% and 54%, respectively. We observed no significant reduction in fatalities for other species in the genus Lasiurius. Thus, deterrents represent a potential impact reduction strategy for some bat species, but research is still warranted to improve species-specific effectiveness.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989420301827Bat fatalityEcholocationImpact reductionUltrasonic acoustic deterrentWind energy
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Sara P. Weaver Cris D. Hein Thomas R. Simpson Jonah W. Evans Ivan Castro-Arellano
spellingShingle	Sara P. Weaver Cris D. Hein Thomas R. Simpson Jonah W. Evans Ivan Castro-Arellano Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines Global Ecology and Conservation Bat fatality Echolocation Impact reduction Ultrasonic acoustic deterrent Wind energy
author_facet	Sara P. Weaver Cris D. Hein Thomas R. Simpson Jonah W. Evans Ivan Castro-Arellano
author_sort	Sara P. Weaver
title	Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines
title_short	Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines
title_full	Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines
title_fullStr	Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines
title_full_unstemmed	Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines
title_sort	ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines
publisher	Elsevier
series	Global Ecology and Conservation
issn	2351-9894
publishDate	2020-12-01
description	Wind turbines are known to cause bat fatalities worldwide. Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents are a potential solution to reduce impacts on bats, but few experimental field studies have been conducted at utility scale wind energy facilities. Our objective was to assess effectiveness of a recently developed deterrent for reducing bat fatalities at wind turbines in southern Texas, USA. We quantified fatalities at control (deterrents off) and treatment (deterrents on) wind turbines from 31 July through 30 October in 2017 and 2018, and assessed deterrent effectiveness using generalized linear mixed models. Our results indicate deterrents significantly reduced bat fatalities for Lasiurus cinereus and Tadarida brasiliensis by 78% and 54%, respectively. We observed no significant reduction in fatalities for other species in the genus Lasiurius. Thus, deterrents represent a potential impact reduction strategy for some bat species, but research is still warranted to improve species-specific effectiveness.
topic	Bat fatality Echolocation Impact reduction Ultrasonic acoustic deterrent Wind energy
url	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989420301827
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Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines

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