Migratory Strategy is a Key Factor Driving Interactions at Wind Energy Facilities in At‐Risk North American Bats

Animal migration remains poorly understood for many organisms, impeding understanding of movement dynamics and limiting conservation actions. We develop a framework that scales from movements of individuals to the dynamics of continental migration using data synthesis of endogenous markers, which we apply to three North American bat species with unexplained high rates of fatalities at wind energy facilities. The two species experiencing the highest fatality rates exhibit a "pell-mell" migration strategy in which individuals move from summer habitats in multiple directions, both to higher and lower latitudes, during autumn. We link movements to higher latitudes to encounters with wind energy facilities and report that the timing of pell-mell migration strongly overlaps with that of fatalities at the continental level. These findings support the hypothesis that migration distance and strategy are drivers of increased interactions with wind energy facilities, highlighting the significance of understanding migratory strategy to achieve conservation goals.

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Publication Details

Journal
Ecology Letters
Published
2025-09-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70202
Primary Topic
Bat Biology and Ecology Studies
Type
article
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article

Migratory Strategy is a Key Factor Driving Interactions at Wind Energy Facilities in At‐Risk North American Bats

David M. Nelson, Lori Pruitt, Robert Guralnick, Amanda M. Hale et al.
Ecology Letters
Bat Biology and Ecology Studies
article

Migratory Strategy is a Key Factor Driving Interactions at Wind Energy Facilities in At‐Risk North American Bats

David M. Nelson, Lori Pruitt, Robert Guralnick, Amanda M. Hale, Jamin G. Wieringa, Jeff Clerc, Erin E. Fraser, Hannah B. Vander Zanden, Fred J. Longstaffe, Juliet Nagel, Theodore J. Weller, Meghan Lout, Caitlin J. Campbell
article en

Abstract

Animal migration remains poorly understood for many organisms, impeding understanding of movement dynamics and limiting conservation actions. We develop a framework that scales from movements of individuals to the dynamics of continental migration using data synthesis of endogenous markers, which we apply to three North American bat species with unexplained high rates of fatalities at wind energy facilities. The two species experiencing the highest fatality rates exhibit a "pell-mell" migration strategy in which individuals move from summer habitats in multiple directions, both to higher and lower latitudes, during autumn. We link movements to higher latitudes to encounters with wind energy facilities and report that the timing of pell-mell migration strongly overlaps with that of fatalities at the continental level. These findings support the hypothesis that migration distance and strategy are drivers of increased interactions with wind energy facilities, highlighting the significance of understanding migratory strategy to achieve conservation goals.

Ecology LettersVol. 28(9)
University of Vermont (US), Western University (CA), Texas Christian University (US), National Laboratory of the Rockies (US), Memorial University of Newfoundland (CA), Florida Museum of Natural History (US), United States Fish and Wildlife Service (US), University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (US), Bat Conservation International (US), University of Florida (US), Pacific Southwest Research Station (US), Western EcoSystems Technology (United States) (US), Vermont Department of Health (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 81%
Bat Biology and Ecology Studies
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