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

BioScience
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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.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title A comment on "bats killed in large numbers at United States wind energy facilities"
Series title BioScience
DOI 10.1093/biosci/biu056
Volume 64
Issue 6
Year Published 2014
Language English
Publisher Oxford University Press
Contributing office(s) Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Contaminant Biology Program
Description 2 p.
First page 546
Last page 547
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