Geology topics

Kevin W. Heist

Publications and source records attributed to Kevin W. Heist.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2017

A method to assess the population-level consequences of wind energy facilities on bird and bat species

For this study, a methodology was developed for assessing impacts of wind energy generation on populations of birds and bats at regional to national scales. The approach combines existing methods in applied ecology for prioritizing species in terms of their potential risk from wind energy facilities and estimating impacts of fatalities on population status and trend caused by collisions with wind energy infrastructure. Methods include a qualitative prioritization approach, demographic models, and potential biological removal. The approach can be used to prioritize species in need of more thorough study as well as to identify species with minimal risk. However, the components of this methodology require simplifying assumptions and the data required may be unavailable or of poor quality for some species. These issues should be carefully considered before using the methodology. The approach will increase in value as more data become available and will broaden the understanding of anthropogenic sources of mortality on bird and bat populations.

Book chapter↗

USGS2015

Preliminary methodology to assess the national and regional impact of U.S. wind energy development on birds and bats

The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a methodology to assess the impacts of wind energy development on wildlife; it is a probabilistic, quantitative assessment methodology that can communicate to decision makers and the public the magnitude of these effects on species populations. The methodology is currently applicable to birds and bats, focuses primarily on the effects of collisions, and can be applied to any species that breeds in, migrates through, or otherwise uses any part of the United States. The methodology is intended to assess species at the national scale and is fundamentally different from existing methods focusing on impacts at individual facilities. Publicly available fatality information, population estimates, species range maps, turbine location data, biological characteristics, and generic population models are used to generate both a ranked list of species based on relative risk as well as quantitative measures of the magnitude of the effect on species' population trend and size. Three metrics are combined to determine direct and indirect relative risk to populations. A generic population model is used to estimate the expected change in population trend and includes additive mortality from collisions with wind turbines. Lastly, the methodology uses observed fatalities and an estimate of potential biological removal to assess the risk of a decline in population size. Data for six bird species have been processed through the entire methodology as a test case, and the results are presented in this report. Components of the methodology are based on simplifying assumptions and require information that, for many species, may be sparse or unreliable. These assumptions are presented in the report and should be carefully considered when using output from the methodology. In addition, this methodology can be used to recommend species for more intensive demographic modeling or highlight those species that may not require any additional protection because effects of wind energy development on their populations are projected to be small.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2014

Behavior of bats at wind turbines

Wind turbines are causing unprecedented numbers of bat fatalities. Many fatalities involve tree-roosting bats, but reasons for this higher susceptibility remain unknown. To better understand behaviors associated with risk, we monitored bats at three experimentally manipulated wind turbines in Indiana, United States, from July 29 to October 1, 2012, using thermal cameras and other methods. We observed bats on 993 occasions and saw many behaviors, including close approaches, flight loops and dives, hovering, and chases. Most bats altered course toward turbines during observation. Based on these new observations, we tested the hypotheses that wind speed and blade rotation speed influenced the way that bats interacted with turbines. We found that bats were detected more frequently at lower wind speeds and typically approached turbines on the leeward (downwind) side. The proportion of leeward approaches increased with wind speed when blades were prevented from turning, yet decreased when blades could turn. Bats were observed more frequently at turbines on moonlit nights. Taken together, these observations suggest that bats may orient toward turbines by sensing air currents and using vision, and that air turbulence caused by fast-moving blades creates conditions that are less attractive to bats passing in close proximity. Tree bats may respond to streams of air flowing downwind from trees at night while searching for roosts, conspecifics, and nocturnal insect prey that could accumulate in such flows. Fatalities of tree bats at turbines may be the consequence of behaviors that evolved to provide selective advantages when elicited by tall trees, but are now maladaptive when elicited by wind turbines.

Indiana↗