Search USGS⌕ Search
Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70103497

A comment on "bats killed in large numbers at United States wind energy facilities"

Manuela M.P. Huso·Dan Dalthorp
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Widespread reports of bat fatalities caused by wind turbines have raised concerns about the impacts of wind power development. Reliable estimates of the total number killed and the potential effects on populations are needed, but it is crucial that they be based on sound data. In a recent BioScience article, Hayes (2013) estimated that over 600,000 bats were killed at wind turbines in the United States in 2012. The scientific errors in the analysis are numerous, with the two most serious being that the included sites constituted a convenience sample, not a representative sample, and that the individual site estimates are derived from such different methodologies that they are inherently not comparable. This estimate is almost certainly inaccurate, but whether the actual number is much smaller, much larger, or about the same is uncertain. An accurate estimate of total bat fatality is not currently possible, given the shortcomings of the available data.

Explore related subjects

BioScienceArticle

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Manuela M.P. Huso, Dan Dalthorp. 2014-04-24. A comment on "bats killed in large numbers at United States wind energy facilities". https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci%2Fbiu056

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2026

Climate change is reshaping seagrass futures: Novel environments and opportunities along coastlines and across oceans

Seagrasses are a highly productive ecosystem that supports biodiversity and fisheries, protects coastlines, and buries globally significant carbon stocks. Because seagrasses are increasingly stressed by warmer, darker, and more variable waters, established management strategies may not guarantee future success. Here, we depict a global outlook for seagrass futures by synthesizing how climate and non-climate human pressures may restructure meadow composition, food webs, fisheries, and blue carbon services. Current seagrass range shifts, adaptations, and acclimations to novel environmental conditions preview future states: climate-tolerant species often become dominant post-disturbance, seeds can disperse hundreds of kilometers, and local management can facilitate habitat persistence and large-scale restoration. To boost climate resilience, we propose a three-part framework involving (1) expanding seagrass mariculture and planting, (2) detecting and predicting shifting stressor gradients and species distributions, and (3) managing for seagrasses tolerant of novel environments. Together, these strategies offer proactive pathways for cultivating climate-adapted seagrass meadows worldwide.

BioScience↗
USGS2026

Perspectives and insights gained from applying landscape ecological approaches to the Upper Mississippi riverscape

Advances in remote sensing, spatial data collection, hydraulic and geospatial models, and the maturation of landscape ecology during the early 2000s spurred the concept of rivers as landscapes or ‘riverscapes’. Since that time, the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program - one of the world’s longest running large-river ecosystem restoration and monitoring programs - has applied landscape ecological principles to the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). I examine spatial patterns of aquatic nutrient concentrations, submersed aquatic vegetation, and fish and mussel communities, finding that within-river patterns are often patchy in nature, likely resulting from how nutrient processes and community traits interact with spatial variability in hydraulic exchange patterns. Local-scale patchy spatial patterns in the UMRS are embedded in system-scale longitudinal gradients and a hierarchical view of the river has provided a foundation for strategic river restoration planning. Key Words: Aquatic Habitat, hydraulic connectivity, patch, restoration, riverscape

BioScience↗