Hierarchical mixture models and high-resolution monitoring data can inform siting and operational strategies to mitigate bat fatalities at wind turbines

Ecological Informatics
By: , and 

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Abstract

Bats provide critical ecosystem services, but bat fatalities due to wind energy development may imperil some bat populations. Statistical models are used to estimate the total fatalities that occur based on carcasses observed during monitoring surveys. Current models often estimate fatalities aggregated across species, time, and/or turbines, but fall short of reliably informing siting and operational collision mitigation strategies that account for species-specific fatality patterns on a fine spatiotemporal scale. We developed a hierarchical mixture model for estimating species-specific covariate effects and total fatalities per species at each turbine on weekly intervals. We applied the model to a high-resolution dataset of bat carcasses found during turbine searches across nineteen wind facilities in Iowa over two years. Our model explains species-specific variation in bat fatalities at individual wind turbines according to turbine proximity to bat habitat, turbine design specifications, seasonal trends, and weather conditions such as nightly air temperature, air pressure, and wind speed. Turbines located on the edge of wind facilities had higher fatalities, and proximity to roosting and foraging habitat accounted for variation in species-specific fatality estimates. These insights into turbine placement effects can inform siting strategies. We also discovered species-specific relationships with average nightly wind speed and air temperature, among other weather conditions, that could inform operational mitigation strategies such as smart curtailment. Our model can transform observations of carcasses found during turbine searches across multiple facilities, years, and variable search efforts into estimates of total fatalities per species associated with species-specific spatial, temporal, and environmental covariate effects.

Suggested Citation

Labuzzetta, C.J., Johnsen, A.(., Andress, A., Bohner, T., Grajal-Puche, A., Seymour, M., Straw, B., Thogmartin, W.E., Udell, B.J., Wiens, A.M., Diffendorfer, J., 2026, Hierarchical mixture models and high-resolution monitoring data can inform siting and operational strategies to mitigate bat fatalities at wind turbines: Ecological Informatics, v. 94, 103652, 13 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103652.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Hierarchical mixture models and high-resolution monitoring data can inform siting and operational strategies to mitigate bat fatalities at wind turbines
Series title Ecological Informatics
DOI 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103652
Volume 94
Year Published 2026
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Fort Collins Science Center
Description 103652, 13 p.
Additional publication details