Offshore Occurrence of a Migratory Bat, Pipistrellus nathusii , Depends on Seasonality and Weather Conditions
Bats regularly migrate over the North Sea, but information on the environmental conditions when this occurs is scarce. Detailed information is urgently needed on the conditions under which bats can be expected offshore, as the number of offshore windfarms that can cause fatalities amongst bats in th...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8dd2b759e487467787eebe7d6bc9353f 2023-05-15T17:59:45+02:00 Offshore Occurrence of a Migratory Bat, Pipistrellus nathusii , Depends on Seasonality and Weather Conditions Sander Lagerveld Bob Jonge Poerink Steve C. V. Geelhoed 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123442 https://doaj.org/article/8dd2b759e487467787eebe7d6bc9353f EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/12/3442 https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615 doi:10.3390/ani11123442 2076-2615 https://doaj.org/article/8dd2b759e487467787eebe7d6bc9353f Animals, Vol 11, Iss 3442, p 3442 (2021) migration offshore wind farms Nathusius’ pipistrelle acoustic monitoring Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123442 2022-12-31T16:20:45Z Bats regularly migrate over the North Sea, but information on the environmental conditions when this occurs is scarce. Detailed information is urgently needed on the conditions under which bats can be expected offshore, as the number of offshore windfarms that can cause fatalities amongst bats in the North Sea is increasing rapidly. We performed ultrasonic acoustic monitoring at multiple nearshore locations at sea between 2012 and 2016 for, in total, 480 monitoring nights. We modelled the offshore occurrence of Nathusius’ pipistrelle in autumn as a function of weather conditions, seasonality, and the lunar cycle using a generalized additive mixed model (GAMM). We investigated which covariates are important using backward selection based on a likelihood ratio test. Our model showed that important explanatory variables for the offshore occurrence of Nathusius’ pipistrelle are seasonality (night in year), wind speed, wind direction, and temperature. The species’ migration is strongest in early September, with east-northeasterly tailwinds, wind speeds < 5 m/s, and temperatures > 15 °C. Lunar cycle, cloud cover, atmospheric pressure, atmospheric pressure change, rain, and visibility were excluded during the model selection. These results provide valuable input to reduce bat fatalities in offshore wind farms by taking mitigation measures. Article in Journal/Newspaper Pipistrellus nathusii Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Animals 11 12 3442 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
migration offshore wind farms Nathusius’ pipistrelle acoustic monitoring Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
migration offshore wind farms Nathusius’ pipistrelle acoustic monitoring Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 Sander Lagerveld Bob Jonge Poerink Steve C. V. Geelhoed Offshore Occurrence of a Migratory Bat, Pipistrellus nathusii , Depends on Seasonality and Weather Conditions |
topic_facet |
migration offshore wind farms Nathusius’ pipistrelle acoustic monitoring Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
Bats regularly migrate over the North Sea, but information on the environmental conditions when this occurs is scarce. Detailed information is urgently needed on the conditions under which bats can be expected offshore, as the number of offshore windfarms that can cause fatalities amongst bats in the North Sea is increasing rapidly. We performed ultrasonic acoustic monitoring at multiple nearshore locations at sea between 2012 and 2016 for, in total, 480 monitoring nights. We modelled the offshore occurrence of Nathusius’ pipistrelle in autumn as a function of weather conditions, seasonality, and the lunar cycle using a generalized additive mixed model (GAMM). We investigated which covariates are important using backward selection based on a likelihood ratio test. Our model showed that important explanatory variables for the offshore occurrence of Nathusius’ pipistrelle are seasonality (night in year), wind speed, wind direction, and temperature. The species’ migration is strongest in early September, with east-northeasterly tailwinds, wind speeds < 5 m/s, and temperatures > 15 °C. Lunar cycle, cloud cover, atmospheric pressure, atmospheric pressure change, rain, and visibility were excluded during the model selection. These results provide valuable input to reduce bat fatalities in offshore wind farms by taking mitigation measures. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sander Lagerveld Bob Jonge Poerink Steve C. V. Geelhoed |
author_facet |
Sander Lagerveld Bob Jonge Poerink Steve C. V. Geelhoed |
author_sort |
Sander Lagerveld |
title |
Offshore Occurrence of a Migratory Bat, Pipistrellus nathusii , Depends on Seasonality and Weather Conditions |
title_short |
Offshore Occurrence of a Migratory Bat, Pipistrellus nathusii , Depends on Seasonality and Weather Conditions |
title_full |
Offshore Occurrence of a Migratory Bat, Pipistrellus nathusii , Depends on Seasonality and Weather Conditions |
title_fullStr |
Offshore Occurrence of a Migratory Bat, Pipistrellus nathusii , Depends on Seasonality and Weather Conditions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Offshore Occurrence of a Migratory Bat, Pipistrellus nathusii , Depends on Seasonality and Weather Conditions |
title_sort |
offshore occurrence of a migratory bat, pipistrellus nathusii , depends on seasonality and weather conditions |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123442 https://doaj.org/article/8dd2b759e487467787eebe7d6bc9353f |
genre |
Pipistrellus nathusii |
genre_facet |
Pipistrellus nathusii |
op_source |
Animals, Vol 11, Iss 3442, p 3442 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/12/3442 https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615 doi:10.3390/ani11123442 2076-2615 https://doaj.org/article/8dd2b759e487467787eebe7d6bc9353f |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123442 |
container_title |
Animals |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
3442 |
_version_ |
1766168634574503936 |