Post-fledging movements of white-tailed eagles: Conservation implications for wind-energy development.
The presence of poorly sited wind farms raises concerns for wildlife, including birds of prey. Therefore, there is a need to extend the knowledge of the potential human-wildlife conflicts associated with wind energy. Here, we report on the movements and habitat use of post-fledging satellite-tagged white-tailed eagles in Finland, where wind-energy development is expected to increase in the near future. In particular, we examine the probability of a fledgling approaching a hypothetical turbine that is placed at different distances from the nest. We found that this probability is high at short distances but considerably decreases with increasing distances to the nest. A utilisation-availability analysis showed that the coast was the preferred habitat. We argue that avoiding construction between active nests and the shoreline, as well as adopting the currently 2-km buffer zone for turbine deployment, can avoid or minimise potential impacts on post-fledging white-tailed eagles.
Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland. fabach@utu.fi.
Fabio
F
Balotari-Chiebao
Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372, CNRS - Université de la Rochelle, 79360, Villiers en Bois, France.|Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland.
Alexandre
A
Villers
Brahea Centre, Centre for Maritime Studies, University of Turku, P.O. Box 181, 28101, Pori, Finland.
Asko
A
Ijäs
Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.|Department of Biology, University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Otso
O
Ovaskainen
Brahea Centre, Centre for Maritime Studies, University of Turku, P.O. Box 181, 28101, Pori, Finland.
Sari
S
Repka
Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland.
Toni
T
Laaksonen
D025041:Animal Migration / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D020307:Eagles / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005387:Finland; D009425:Nesting Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D059205:Renewable Energy; D063809:Satellite Imagery; D013686:Telemetry; D014919:Wind
Conservation; Habitat use; Movements; Post-fledging; White-tailed eagle; Wind energy