Evaluating potential effects of solar power facilities on wildlife from an animal behavior perspective
Evaluating potential effects of solar power facilities on wildlife from an animal behavior perspective
Solar power is a renewable energy source with great potential to help
meet increasing global energy demands and reduce our reliance on fossil
fuels. However, research is scarce on how solar facilities affect wildlife.
With input from professionals in ecology, conservation, and energy, we
conducted a research-prioritization process and identified key questions
needed to better understand impacts of solar facilities on wildlife. We
focused on animal behavior, which can be used to identify population
responses before mortality or other fitness consequences are
documented. Behavioral studies can also offer approaches to understand
the mechanisms leading to negative interactions (e.g., collision,
singeing, avoidance) and provide insight into mitigating effects. Here, we
review how behavioral responses to solar facilities, including perception,
movement, habitat use, and interspecific interactions are priority
research areas. Addressing these themes will lead to a more
comprehensive understanding of the effects of solar power on wildlife
and guide future mitigation.
Conservation, animal behavior, concentrating solar power (CSP), conservation behaviour, fitness, photovoltaic cells, research prioritization porcess, solar power, utility-scale solar energy (USSE)
Chock, Rachel
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Clucas, Barbara
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Peterson, Elizabeth
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Blackwell, Bradley F.
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Blumstein, Daniel T.
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Church, Kathleen
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Fernández‐Juricic, Esteban
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Francescoli, Gabriel
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Greggor, Alison L.
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Kemp, Paul
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Pinho, Gabriela M.
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Sanzenbacher, Peter M.
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Schulte, Bruce A.
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Toni, Pauline
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15 February 2021
Chock, Rachel
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Clucas, Barbara
ad987aa3-fa45-46ac-8673-a246722a9b47
Peterson, Elizabeth
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Blackwell, Bradley F.
4cfb4374-3ad3-4085-b6be-de213acf32fb
Blumstein, Daniel T.
e0c8beac-d7ed-4c84-a35e-e45d1e937273
Church, Kathleen
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Fernández‐Juricic, Esteban
a1797103-eedc-419f-84eb-db84fa7e9948
Francescoli, Gabriel
649bc31b-d083-4356-a193-80fa840e65ae
Greggor, Alison L.
8371265e-8a5a-4274-aac7-cc19ded3bc2a
Kemp, Paul
9e33fba6-cccf-4eb5-965b-b70e72b11cd7
Pinho, Gabriela M.
b7c3cfda-3828-4451-8198-a5a1f22898ed
Sanzenbacher, Peter M.
ab0caf21-2089-4041-8cd2-6a08552dec12
Schulte, Bruce A.
536881e6-78b0-4c02-adc4-1c51c0b09389
Toni, Pauline
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Chock, Rachel, Clucas, Barbara, Peterson, Elizabeth, Blackwell, Bradley F., Blumstein, Daniel T., Church, Kathleen, Fernández‐Juricic, Esteban, Francescoli, Gabriel, Greggor, Alison L., Kemp, Paul, Pinho, Gabriela M., Sanzenbacher, Peter M., Schulte, Bruce A. and Toni, Pauline
(2021)
Evaluating potential effects of solar power facilities on wildlife from an animal behavior perspective.
Conservation Science and Practice, 3 (2), [e319].
(doi:10.1111/csp2.319).
Abstract
Solar power is a renewable energy source with great potential to help
meet increasing global energy demands and reduce our reliance on fossil
fuels. However, research is scarce on how solar facilities affect wildlife.
With input from professionals in ecology, conservation, and energy, we
conducted a research-prioritization process and identified key questions
needed to better understand impacts of solar facilities on wildlife. We
focused on animal behavior, which can be used to identify population
responses before mortality or other fitness consequences are
documented. Behavioral studies can also offer approaches to understand
the mechanisms leading to negative interactions (e.g., collision,
singeing, avoidance) and provide insight into mitigating effects. Here, we
review how behavioral responses to solar facilities, including perception,
movement, habitat use, and interspecific interactions are priority
research areas. Addressing these themes will lead to a more
comprehensive understanding of the effects of solar power on wildlife
and guide future mitigation.
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Evaluating potential effects of solar power
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Accepted/In Press date: 19 November 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 November 2020
Published date: 15 February 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The authors thank the Animal Behavior Society for the opportunity and funding to organize a workshop (entitled ?Conservation Behavior Workshop: Implications of Solar Power on Wildlife Conservation?) at the Animal Behavior Society Conference 2019 (Chicago, IL), and the funding to publish this manuscript. The authors thank everyone who responded to the online survey and participated in the workshop, especially Dr Thomas Dietsch and Peter Sanzenbacher (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Conservation Science and Practice published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology
Keywords:
Conservation, animal behavior, concentrating solar power (CSP), conservation behaviour, fitness, photovoltaic cells, research prioritization porcess, solar power, utility-scale solar energy (USSE)
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Local EPrints ID: 445246
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/445246
PURE UUID: ba03c469-22b8-48bf-97ed-edbe8a453915
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Date deposited: 26 Nov 2020 17:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:00
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Contributors
Author:
Rachel Chock
Author:
Barbara Clucas
Author:
Elizabeth Peterson
Author:
Bradley F. Blackwell
Author:
Daniel T. Blumstein
Author:
Kathleen Church
Author:
Esteban Fernández‐Juricic
Author:
Gabriel Francescoli
Author:
Alison L. Greggor
Author:
Gabriela M. Pinho
Author:
Peter M. Sanzenbacher
Author:
Bruce A. Schulte
Author:
Pauline Toni
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