Bat mortality in wind farms of southern Europe: temporal patterns and implications in the current context of climate change

Abstract

The expansion of renewable energy production, especially wind power, is one of the cornerstones of our strategy for mitigating climate change. However, there is growing concern about the impacts of this energy source on biodiversity. In particular, very little is known about the impact on groups of fauna such as bats, which are especially sensitive to environmental changes. We investigated the temporal patterns of bat fatalities in wind farms in the province of Cádiz, in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. An eleven-year data set (2009–2019) from a surveillance program of bird and bat mortality in wind farms was analysed. A total of 2,858 fatalities concerning 10 bat genera were reported, although more than 90% of the affected animals were individuals of the genera Pipistrellus, Eptesicus and Nyctalus. Bat mortality occurred mainly during the summer and autumn, especially in August. However, species such as the genus Pipistrellus, present collisions throughout the year, including all winter months in the case of the genus Pipistrellus. The probability of mortality was positively correlated with the maximum daily temperature. According to the model prediction, the probability of fatality begins to increase slightly from 20 °C and then rises sharply when the temperature exceeds 30 °C, that can be interpreted as a consequence of increasing bat activity at local scale. According to the regional projections of global climate models, an increase in maximum temperatures and the arrival of milder winters may lead to an increase in the annual mortality of bats in wind farms in the coming decades