e-obs Stories & Publications

@misc{ferrer_lack_2026,

title = {Lack of Avoidance Behavior in Wind Farms by Young Spanish Imperial Eagles},

author = {Miguel Ferrer and Roberto Muriel and Ryan Bambusch and Jorge Garc\'{i}a-Mac\'{i}a and Virginia Morandini and Miguel Ferrer},

url = {https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202601.0850},

doi = {10.20944/preprints202601.0850.v1},

year  = {2026},

date = {2026-01-01},

urldate = {2026-02-17},

publisher = {Preprints},

abstract = {Wind farms are known to trigger avoidance behaviour leading to habitat loss in some raptors. The recovery of the Spanish imperial eagle, Aquila adalberti, in Cadiz, a Spanish province with a high density of wind farms, is of concern. Macro-displacement was studied by comparing juvenile density between wind farms and control areas. Meso-displacement was studied comparing actual density in each 200 m interval of distance around turbines against a random distribution, assuming no-avoidance, controlling for the influence of other environmental factors. We found no evidence of avoidance at macro scale. At meso scale, using density method, we did not find any evidence supporting eagle avoidance behaviour. The study of avoidance behaviours is an ongoing topic that can help to improve conservation and management decisions, especially for species sensitive to the presence of wind farms and other threatening infrastructures in their habitats.},

keywords = {accelerometer, avoidance behavior, avoidance behaviour, Bird Solar Cellular, density of locations, dispersal period, dispersal period; Spanish imperial eagle; wind farm; wind turbine, eagle, Flying, flying bird, human conflict, Lifetime, raptor, raptors, Soaring, Spanish imperial eagle, wind, wind farm, wind turbine},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {misc}

}

@misc{tavernier_solar_2026,

title = {Solar fields provide diurnal habitat for European hares (Lepus europaeus) within the intensive agricultural landscape},

author = {Chlo\'{e} Tavernier and Minke R. Mulder and Martijn J. A. Weterings and Ralph Buij and Frank Langevelde and Rascha Nuijten},

url = {https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=6021220},

doi = {10.2139/ssrn.6021220},

year  = {2026},

date = {2026-01-01},

urldate = {2026-02-17},

publisher = {Social Science Research Network},

address = {Rochester, NY},

abstract = {The increase in the number of solar fields in European landscapes could have a large effect on local wildlife, potentially affecting prey-predator relationships. However, common mammals are underrepresented in research on the impact of solar fields on mammal diversity. In this study, the spatial and temporal use of solar fields by European hares (Lepus europaeus) is explored in relation to predation pressure. We tracked 11 hares using GPS collars measuring location every two hours and accelerometers with a burst of data every two minutes at 10 Hz. Hares used solar fields as inactive habitat during daytime, irrespective of the season, while they consistently use farmland as active habitat during nighttime. They increased their use of solar fields when predation pressure increased within solar fields. Thus, it seems that solar fields can offer diurnal resting habitat with a reduction in perceived predation risk compared to the surrounding farmlands. It is yet to be explored whether this reduction of predation risk can increase the fitness of hares or if solar fields create an ecological trap in an already poor agricultural landscape matrix.},

keywords = {Hare, human conflict, human landscape, lepus, Predation pressure, social, solar farm, Solar fields, Space use},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {misc}

}