e-obs Stories & Publications

@article{bounas_displacement_2026,

title = {Displacement effects on an endangered cinereous vulture population in a landscape of increasing wind power development},

author = {Anastasios Bounas and Elzbieta Kret and Lavrentis Sidiropoulos and Sylvia Zakkak and Eleftherios Kapsalis and Volen Arkumarev and Dobromir Dobrev and Anton Stamenov and Stoycho Stoychev and Dimitris Vasilakis},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320726000364},

doi = {10.1016/j.biocon.2026.111728},

issn = {0006-3207},

year  = {2026},

date = {2026-03-01},

urldate = {2026-02-17},

journal = {Biological Conservation},

volume = {315},

pages = {111728},

abstract = {Windenergy is widely considered to be an integral part in global efforts to mitigate climate change, but its rapid expansion is raising concerns regarding its impacts on biodiversity and specifically soaring birds which rely on the same high-wind landscapes targeted for turbine siting. Understanding how these developments alter space use, movement behaviour, and energy expenditure is critical for mitigating impacts on threatened populations. Here, we combined two decades of telemetry data to evaluate the responses of Cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) in a region undergoing substantialwind power plant development. Long-term analyses (2004\textendash2022) revealed pronounced displacement, with population utilization reduced by 85\textendash89% within 200 m of turbines. High-resolution GPS tracking (2016\textendash2021) provided complementary behavioural insights, showing significant reductions in crossing rates, daily flight distances and time spent near turbines once they became operational. We also identified areas of increased vulture activity that overlap with planned wind farms under licensing, suggesting that such sites may represent critical corridors for population movement and should remain undeveloped. Our findings support considering cumulative displacement and potential energetic costs in environmental assessments alongside major existing threats, including poisoning and electrocution. We recommend spatial planning that avoids core movement areas to reconcile renewable energy expansion with the conservation of large soaring raptors.},

keywords = {accelerometer, Cumulative impacts, Displacement, Energetic costs, Flight behaviour, flying bird, scavenger, Soaring birds, Space use, Spatial planning, Vulture, Wind energy},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{bravo-chaparro_gps-tracked_2026,

title = {GPS-tracked vultures indicate a relaxation of conservation commitments in renewable energy development},

author = {Elena Bravo-Chaparro and Jorge Rodr\'{i}guez-P\'{e}rez and Mar\'{i}a Fern\'{a}ndez-Garc\'{i}a and Jos\'{e} Carlos Gonz\'{a}lez and Gerardo B\'{a}guena and Jo\~{a}o Pedro Valente e Santos and Iv\'{a}n Guti\'{e}rrez and Jos\'{e} Vicente L\'{o}pez-Bao and Patricia Mateo-Tom\'{a}s},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2664.70225},

doi = {10.1111/1365-2664.70225},

issn = {1365-2664},

year  = {2026},

date = {2026-01-01},

urldate = {2026-02-17},

journal = {Journal of Applied Ecology},

volume = {63},

number = {1},

pages = {e70225},

abstract = {Strategic and well-informed environmental planning tools are instrumental to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Given the boost in renewable energy facilities, different planning tools are being proposed to identify low-sensitive areas for the installation of these infrastructures, where environmental impact assessment procedures are simplified. However, the effectiveness of these tools is rarely scrutinized and, therefore, if they are fit for purpose remains unsolved. We used data from 90 GPS-tracked griffon and bearded vultures to assess the level of spatial agreement between vultures' space use at heights with a risk of collision with wind turbines and the environmental sensitivity to wind energy identified by official planning tools. Despite relatively high agreements (\>0.6 out of 1), these tools still misclassified up to 88% of vultures' home ranges, with strong disagreements observed in foraging grounds, movement corridors and near breeding colonies. Furthermore, the spatial agreement decreased when considering the legally binding categories (\>0.6 out of 1) in contrast with the non-statutory categories (\>0.9 out of 1). Synthesis and applications. Our results highlight the need to evaluate and improve official spatial planning tools developed to minimize environmental impacts such as those of renewable energies. GPS-tracking data from vulnerable species help in identifying risk areas misclassified by the planning tools, which should also be founded in a proper legal background (e.g., constraining development in the most sensitive areas) to avoid limiting their effectiveness in practice.},

note = {_eprint: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2664.70225},

keywords = {accelerometer, biologging, Bird Solar Cellular, conflict, environmental impact assessment, environmental policy, Flying, human, legal downgrading, Lifetime, movement ecology, renewable energy, scavenger, scavengers, Soaring, Spatial planning, Vulture, Wind energy},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}