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Effects of overhead power-lines on the density of groundnesting birds in open sub-arctic habitats

Type of publication

Peer reviewed

Author

Pálsdottír et al.

Organisation type

Research centre, University

Year

2022

Language

English

Publicly available

Yes

Organisation

South Iceland Research Centre, University of Iceland

Country of experiment

Iceland

Description

Collisions with power lines are a widely documented cause of avian mortality. Estimating total mortalities from counts of carcasses is usually accomplished by quantifying biasing factors, but neither crippling nor nocturnal biases are well understood.

From 4 March through 13 April 2009, data were collected on Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) collisions involving a 69-kV transmission line crossing the Platte River in Nebraska, USA, at a major migration stopover area. The line was marked with devices designed to increase visibility to Sandhill Cranes, and thus reduce collisions. Numbers of carcasses detected via traditional searches that involved walking slowly in a zigzag pattern beneath the line were compared to numbers of collisions visually observed through binoculars and night vision spotting scopes and numbers of collisions detected by electronic Bird Strike Indicators (BSI).

Seventeen carcasses were found during traditional surveys, 117 collisions were observed visually, and 321 collisions were recorded by BSIs. Most collisions occurred at night, with crippled Sandhill Cranes departing survey transects. Total mortality, including crippling and nocturnal biases, was 2.8 to 3.7 times greater than indicated by a traditional corrected-count mortality estimator. Neither crippling bias nor nocturnal bias were adequately considered by the traditional estimator. Consistent with other studies of avian collision; line marking was only partially successful in reducing collisions.

Target species

Multi-species

Key words
LifeLogo

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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