Roel May

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)

The constant increase in energy consumption has created the necessity of extending the energy transmission and distribution network. Placement of powerlines represent a risk for bird population. Hence, better understanding of deaths induced by powerlines, and the factors behind them are of paramount importance to reduce the impact of powerlines. To...

1. Open-source biodiversity databases contain a large number of species occurrence records but are often spatially biased; which affects the reliability of species distribution models based on these records. Sample bias correction techniques require data filtering which comes at the cost of record numbers, or require considerable additional samplin...

Although Kori Bustards (Ardeotis kori) are reported as diurnal, the species’ activity patterns have not been assessed to date. We report on the movement during different parts of the day of eight GPS-tagged individuals in the Serengeti ecosystem, Tanzania. Overall, mean distance moved was 206.2 m per hour. The shortest movements were recorded durin...

The study of attitudes toward wild elephants and human–elephant conflict (HEC) is vital to understanding what attitudes are held by local people and how to incorporate them into wild elephant conservation. This study investigated the interlinkages between the HEC experience and local people’s attitudes toward the conservation of wild elephants and...

Non-technical summary A substantial increase in wind energy deployment worldwide is required to help achieve international targets for decreasing global carbon emissions and limiting the impacts of climate change. In response to global concerns regarding the environmental effects of wind energy, the International Energy Agency Wind Technical Collab...

Understanding the underlying causes behind human–elephant conflict (HEC)-driven mortality of humans and elephants will help improve both parties’ wellbeing. The objective of this study was to examine the temporal and spatial mortality patterns of humans and elephants and the influence of local attitudes, conflict factors and habitat factors on elep...

Quantifying the total number of individuals (abundance) of species is the basis for spatial ecology and biodiversity conservation. Abundance data are mostly collected through professional surveys as part of monitoring programs, often at a national level. These surveys rarely follow exactly the same sampling protocol in different countries, which re...

Quantifying species abundance is the basis for spatial ecology and biodiversity conservation. Abundance data are mostly collected through professional surveys as part of monitoring programs, often at a national level. These surveys rarely follow the same sampling protocol in different countries, which represents a challenge for producing abundance...

Langtidseffekter av Smøla vindpark på den lokale bestanden av havørn (Haliaeetus albicilla)

Global biodiversity is increasingly threatened by anthropogenic environmental change. While there is mounting evidence that habitat loss is a key threat to biodiversity, global assessments typically ignore additional threats from habitat fragmentation. Here, we present a species-area model that integrates habitat size and connectivity, considering...

While wind energy remains a preferred source of renewable energy, understanding the full spectrum of impacts are vital to balance climate-related benefits against their costs to biodiversity. Environmental impact assessments often fail to assess cumulative effects at larger spatial scales. In this respect, life cycle assessments are better suited,...

Human land use is one of the primary threats to terrestrial species richness and is considered a priority for meeting global sustainability and biodiversity targets. Decision-support tools, such as life cycle assessment (LCA), are widely used for developing strategies to achieve such objectives. Currently available life cycle impact assessment (LCI...

Many protected areas (PAs) have been created globally in response to the dramatic human-induced decline in biodiversity. However, not all PAs successfully preserve their biodiversity and continued monitoring is vital to assess the effectiveness of conservation efforts. Here, we repeated a study done in 2003 to assess whether investments in anti-poa...

This cookbook (no. 7) addresses the key topic, “to propose models for evaluating alternative design and management options of GI at landscape level”. The cookbook presents the development of a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) model to combine and integrate knowledge obtained from other key topics (especially key topic 1-3) into a social-ecological sys...

Open-source biodiversity databases contain a large amount of species occurrence records, but these are often spatially biased, which affects the reliability of species distribution models based on these records. Sample bias correction techniques include data filtering at the cost of record numbers or require considerable additional sampling effort....

Animals can employ a range of physiological mechanisms in response to unpredictable changes within their environment, such as changes in food availability and human disturbances. For example, impala exhibit higher faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) levels-indicative of physiological stress-in response to low food quality and higher human distur...

Human-elephant conflicts (HEC) are detrimental for both humans and elephants. A better understanding of HEC enhances effective mitigation strategies and promotes the well-being of humans and wild elephants. This study assesses the pattern and distribution of HEC in three different HEC hotspots in Myanmar and identifies local factors that contribute...

Growing human population demands the expansion of the energy transmission grid. Power lines represent a major death hazard for many species, especially birds. Addressing such a human-wildlife conflict requires detailed knowledge of how species use the aerial space and how they react to mitigation measures, such as flight markers. Here, we use a ded...

Acceptance of wind energy development is challenged by stakeholders' concerns about potential effects on the environment, specifically on wildlife, such as birds, bats, and (for offshore wind) marine animals, and the habitats that support them. Communities near wind energy developments are also concerned with social and economic impacts, as well as...

Understanding habitat preferences and distribution of threatened species is a cornerstone of conservation, however many of the techniques available can be resource intensive. One cost-effective method is by collecting information on species presence and absence from people who regularly interact with the area of interest, also known as Local Ecolog...

Wind energy development continues to expand rapidly to meet international climate targets. However, these developments impact biodiversity and associated sustainability targets negatively. Environmental impact assessments (EIA) predominately focus on site-specific impacts; failing to account for cumulative impacts at larger spatial scales. Life cyc...

Collision risk of soaring birds is partly associated with updrafts to which they are attracted. To identify the risk-enhancing landscape features, a micrositing tool was developed to model orographic and thermal updraft velocities from high-resolution remote sensing data. The tool was applied to the island of Hitra, and validated using GPS-tracked...

As wind energy deployment increases and larger wind‐power plants are considered, bird fatalities through collision with moving turbine rotor blades are expected to increase. However, few (cost‐) effective deterrent or mitigation measures have so far been developed to reduce the risk of collision. Provision of “passive” visual cues may enhance the v...

Carrion represents an unpredictable and widely distributed primary food source for vultures and other avian scavengers. Avian scavengers in African savanna ecosystems are reported to rely exclusively on visual stimuli to locate carcasses. However, carnivores’ predation of large mammalian herbivores and subsequent competition for access to the carca...

• Birds colliding with turbine rotor blades is a well‐known negative consequence of wind‐power plants. However, there has been far less attention to the risk of birds colliding with the turbine towers, and how to mitigate this risk. • Based on data from the Smøla wind‐power plant in Central Norway, it seems highly likely that willow ptarmigan (the...

Powerlines are a direct death hazard to birds. We investigate the behavioural responses of birds (flight behaviour) to wire-marking by comparing sections with and without flight diverters on the powerline's wire using a dedicated avian radar in Norway. Our results show a negative correlation between the presence of the marker and (i) the number, (i...

In East Africa, climate change is predicted to reduce vegetation quality, and pervasive human disturbance has already resulted in significant declines in biodiversity. We studied the combined effects of reduced forage quality and human disturbance on faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations. We predicted that decreasing nutritional qua...

Ship and boat traffic are increasing sources of disturbance to marine wildlife. During moult, sea ducks are flightless and rely on productive and shallow feeding areas. However, this period coincides with the peak of the recreational boating season. This is the first study to investigate the escape behaviour of moulting common eiders (Somateria mol...

Purpose The biosphere is progressively subjected to a variety of pressures resulting from anthropogenic activities. Habitat conversion, resulting from anthropogenic land use, is considered the dominant factor driving terrestrial biodiversity loss. Hence, adequate modelling of land use impacts on biodiversity in decision-support tools, like life cyc...

Text Box 8.3 to the chapter "Mitigation for birds"

Understanding how anthropogenic activities and management actions influence the delivery of ecosystem services is complicated by the interrelated nature of diverse factors. We present a Bayesian Belief Network to highlight the likely consequences of a set of interventions on four wildlife-related ecosystem (dis)services and for supporting biodivers...

This report studies the migration in the outer parts of the Guleslettene wind farm. NINA has done radar mapping during the fall 2018 and spring 2019, and collected audio data both seasons. We have been in the field and mapped the migration, as well as verified radar data. Observations from a previous study have been added, together with data from t...

This study aimed to understand the movement behaviour and utilization distributions of Kori bustards in space and time in the Serengeti ecosystem. A total of 14 individuals were tracked with the aid of GPS (Geographical positioning system) satellite transmitters, and their sexes were identified using DNA analysis. A species utilization distribution...

Adaptive management (AM) is a systematic process intended to improve policies and practices and reduce scientific uncertainty by learning from the outcome of management decisions. Although many nations are considering the use of AM for wind energy, its application in practice and in policy has been limited. Recent applications of AM have revealed f...

Societal concerns regarding the negative impacts of wind turbines on species and ecosystems have placed more emphasis on mitigation efforts pre- and post-construction. While the mitigation hierarchy is usually fronted to deal with negative ecological impacts, it is hardly employed accordingly. This calls for the core of the problem to be addressed,...

Compared to conventional energy technologies, hydropower has the lowest carbon emissions per kWh. Therefore, hydropower electricity production can contribute to combat climate change challenges. However, hydropower electricity production may at the same time contribute to environmental impacts and has been characterized as a large water consumer wi...

The disappearance of an endangered African wild dog population from Serengeti National Park (SNP) led to international debate centered around one question: were researchers to blame? The “Burrows' hypothesis” postulated that stress induced by research‐related immobilization and handling reactivated a latent rabies virus, eliminating the population....

To identify priorities for management of seabirds during the breeding season, it is important to understand the ecological mechanisms driving chick growth and survival. In this study, we examined the effects of diet and prevailing weather on the growth and survival of chicks of black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla over a 10 yr period at Anda, a...

Purpose Models for quantifying impacts on biodiversity from renewable energy technologies are lacking within life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). We aim to provide an overview of the effects of wind energy on birds and bats, with a focus on quantitative methods. Furthermore, we investigate and provide the necessary background for how these can be i...

The expansion of wind energy poses challenges to policy-and decision-makers to address conflicts with wildlife. Conflicts are associated with impacts of existing and planned projects on wildlife, and associated difficulties of prediction where impacts are subject to considerable uncertainty. Many post-construction studies have demonstrated adverse...

Human activities can lead to various changes in wildlife populations’ behaviour and dynamics. Understanding specific responses to disturbances can help conservation management better protect wildlife populations to coexist with local communities. Here, we studied the response of a model ungulate species, the impala (Aepyceros melampus), to differen...

Expansion of renewable energy development causes concerns which traditional land-use planning may have limited capacity to address adequately. The complexity and multiplicity of scales, criteria and actors involved in decision-making processes requires a holistic approach that captures the variety in stakeholder interests. Reaching consensus across...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cox067.][This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cox067.].

The expansion of wind energy development causes both societal and environmental concerns worldwide. Traditional land use planning approaches however limit addressing such concerns adequately. The scale and complexity of emerging renewable energy construction projects enforce the development of improved plan- and decision support tools that ensure d...

Increasing hydropower electricity production constitutes a unique opportunity to mitigate climate change impacts. However, hydropower also impacts aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity through freshwater habitat alteration, water quality degradation, and land use and land use change (LULUC). Today, no operational model exists that covers any of thes...

The conservation of the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) is of prime importance for many African countries. Interactions between elephants and humans are known to induce stress and thereby have the potential to affect elephants' fitness. In Namibia, anthropogenic disturbances are increasing due to increasing human population size and d...

Understanding how soaring birds use updrafts at small spatial scales is important to identify ecological constraints of movement, and may help to prevent conflicts between wind-energy development and the conservation of wildlife. We combined high-frequency GPS animal tracking and fine-spatial-scale uplift modelling to establish a link between fligh...

Background: Concerns for bird collisions with wind turbines affect the deployment of onshore and offshore wind-power plants. To avoid delays in consenting processes and to streamline the construction and operation phase, functional mitigation measures are required which efficiently reduces bird mortality. Vision is the primary sensory system in bir...

For marine top predators like seabirds, the oceans represent a multitude of habitats regarding oceanographic conditions and food availability. Worldwide, these marine habitats are being altered by changes in climate and increased anthropogenic impact. This is causing a growing concern on how seabird populations might adapt to these changes. Underst...

Social behaviour in solitary carnivores has long been an active area of investigation but for many species remains largely founded in conjecture compared to our understanding of sociality in group-living species. The social organization of the wolverine has, until now, received little attention beyond its portrayal as a typical mustelid social syst...

Impacts of anthropogenic activities on coastal seabirds might be extensive, especially in the breeding season. Identifying important foraging areas and associated habitats is important for a proper management of seabirds. To identify habitat characteristics driving the selection of foraging sites of breeding European shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis...

Concerns for potential wildlife impacts resulting from land‐based and offshore wind energy have created challenges for wind project development. Research is not always adequately supported, results are neither always readily accessible nor are they satisfactorily disseminated, and so decisions are often made based on the best available information,...

Microwave radar is an important tool for observation of birds in flight and represents a tremendous increase in observation capability in terms of amount of surveillance space that can be covered at relatively low cost. Based on off-the-shelf radar hardware, automated radar tracking systems have been developed for monitoring avian movements. Howeve...

Although wind energy is generally recognised as a ‘green’ renewable energy source with a relatively small footprint, several adverse effects of wind farms, especially on birds, cannot be neglected. Implementation of the mitigation hierarchy throughout the life cycle of a wind farm ensures that impacts can be mitigated at or below acceptable thresho...

Concurrent with the development of wind energy, research activity on wind energy generation and wildlife has evolved significantly during the last decade. This chapter presents an overview of remaining key knowledge gaps, consequent future research directions and their significance for management and planning for wind energy generation. The impacts...

Adaptive management (AM) is a systematic process intended to improve policies and practices by learning from the outcome of management decisions and to reduce scientific uncertainty. While many nations are considering the use of AM for wind energy, its application in practice and in policy has been limited. Recent application of AM has led to funda...

Mitigating impacts of wind energy development on wildlife is important for conservation and public acceptance of this energy source. We provide an overview of approaches to mitigate impacts of onshore wind energy development on wildlife, following steps in the mitigation hierarchy, including avoidance, minimization, and compensatory mitigation. Pla...

Overview registrations of otter kills for the period 2011-2015 and verification of otter presence in certain areas of Norway. – NINA report 1229. 32 p (in Norwegian)