Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany.
Núcleo de Teoria e Pesquisa do Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Correa 01, Guamá, Belém, 66075-110, Brazil.
Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 19;12(1):6441. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-10295-9.
Wind energy production has expanded as an alternative to carbon emitting fossil fuels, but is causing impacts on wildlife that need to be addressed. Soaring birds show concerning rates of collision with turbine rotor blades and losses of critical habitat. However, how these birds interact with wind turbines is poorly understood. We analyzed high-frequency GPS tracking data of 126 black kites (Milvus migrans) moving near wind turbines to identify behavioural mechanisms of turbine avoidance and their interaction with environmental variables. Birds flying within 1000 m from turbines and below the height of rotor blades were less likely to be oriented towards turbines than expected by chance, this pattern being more striking at distances less than 750 m. Within the range of 750 m, birds showed stronger avoidance when pushed by the wind in the direction of the turbines. Birds flying above the turbines did not change flight directions with turbine proximity. Sex and age of birds, uplift conditions and turbine height, showed no effect on flight directions although these factors have been pointed as important drivers of turbine collision by soaring birds. Our findings suggest that migrating black kites recognize the presence of wind turbines and behave in a way to avoid then. This may explain why this species presents lower collision rates with wind turbines than other soaring birds. Future studies should clarify if turbine avoidance behaviour is common to other soaring birds, particularly those that are facing high fatality rates due to collision.
风能作为一种替代碳排放的化石燃料已经得到了广泛的应用，但它也对野生动物造成了影响，需要加以解决。翱翔的鸟类与涡轮机的旋转叶片发生碰撞的频率很高，它们的关键栖息地也在不断丧失。然而，这些鸟类与风力涡轮机的相互作用方式还不太清楚。我们分析了 126 只黑鸢（Milvus migrans）在风力涡轮机附近移动的高频 GPS 跟踪数据，以确定它们避免涡轮机的行为机制及其与环境变量的相互作用。与涡轮机距离在 1000 米以内且低于旋转叶片高度的鸟类比随机情况下更不可能朝向涡轮机飞行，这种模式在距离小于 750 米时更为明显。在 750 米的范围内，当鸟类在风力的推动下朝向涡轮机飞行时，它们表现出更强的回避行为。在涡轮机上方飞行的鸟类不会随着涡轮机的接近而改变飞行方向。鸟类的性别和年龄、上升条件和涡轮机高度虽然被认为是翱翔鸟类碰撞涡轮机的重要驱动因素，但对飞行方向没有影响。我们的研究结果表明，迁徙中的黑鸢能够识别风力涡轮机的存在，并采取回避行为。这也许可以解释为什么与风力涡轮机碰撞的黑鸢比其他翱翔鸟类的碰撞率要低。未来的研究应该阐明回避涡轮机的行为是否是其他翱翔鸟类的共同行为，特别是那些由于碰撞而死亡率很高的鸟类。
