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Vander Zanden HB, Nelson DM, Conkling TJ, Allison TD, Diffendorfer JE, Dietsch TV, Fesnock AL, Loss SR, Ortiz PA, Paulman R, Rogers KH, Sanzenbacher PM, Katzner TE. The geographic extent of bird populations affected by renewable-energy development. Conserv Biol 2024; 38:e14191. [PMID: 38180844 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Bird populations are declining globally. Wind and solar energy can reduce emissions of fossil fuels that drive anthropogenic climate change, yet renewable-energy production represents a potential threat to bird species. Surveys to assess potential effects at renewable-energy facilities are exclusively local, and the geographic extent encompassed by birds killed at these facilities is largely unknown, which creates challenges for minimizing and mitigating the population-level and cumulative effects of these fatalities. We performed geospatial analyses of stable hydrogen isotope data obtained from feathers of 871 individuals of 24 bird species found dead at solar- and wind-energy facilities in California (USA). Most species had individuals with a mix of origins, ranging from 23% to 98% nonlocal. Mean minimum distances to areas of likely origin for nonlocal individuals were as close as 97 to >1250 km, and these minimum distances were larger for species found at solar-energy facilities in deserts than at wind-energy facilities in grasslands (Cohen's d = 6.5). Fatalities were drawn from an estimated 30-100% of species' desingated ranges, and this percentage was significantly smaller for species with large ranges found at wind facilities (Pearson's r = -0.67). Temporal patterns in the geographic origin of fatalities suggested that migratory movements and nonmigratory movements, such as dispersal and nomadism, influence exposure to fatality risk for these birds. Our results illustrate the power of using stable isotope data to assess the geographic extent of renewable-energy fatalities on birds. As the buildout of renewable-energy facilities continues, accurate assessment of the geographic footprint of wildlife fatalities can be used to inform compensatory mitigation for their population-level and cumulative effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah B Vander Zanden
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Boise, Idaho, USA
| | - David M Nelson
- Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, Maryland, USA
| | - Tara J Conkling
- Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Boise, Idaho, USA
| | - Taber D Allison
- Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Jay E Diffendorfer
- Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Thomas V Dietsch
- Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad, California, USA
| | - Amy L Fesnock
- Bureau of Land Management, Palm Springs, California, USA
| | - Scott R Loss
- Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Patricia A Ortiz
- Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Boise, Idaho, USA
- Pacific Region Migratory Birds and Habitat Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Boise, Idaho, USA
| | - Robin Paulman
- Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, Maryland, USA
| | - Krysta H Rogers
- Wildlife Health Laboratory, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Rancho Cordova, California, USA
| | - Peter M Sanzenbacher
- Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Palm Springs, California, USA
| | - Todd E Katzner
- Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Boise, Idaho, USA
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Bossu CM, Heath JA, Kaltenecker GS, Helm B, Ruegg KC. Clock-linked genes underlie seasonal migratory timing in a diurnal raptor. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212507. [PMID: 35506230 PMCID: PMC9069262 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Seasonal migration is a dynamic natural phenomenon that allows organisms to exploit favourable habitats across the annual cycle. While the morphological, physiological and behavioural changes associated with migratory behaviour are well characterized, the genetic basis of migration and its link to endogenous biological time-keeping pathways are poorly understood. Historically, genome-wide research has focused on genes of large effect, whereas many genes of small effect may work together to regulate complex traits like migratory behaviour. Here, we explicitly relax stringent outlier detection thresholds and, as a result, discover how multiple biological time-keeping genes are important to migratory timing in an iconic raptor species, the American kestrel (Falco sparverius). To validate the role of candidate loci in migratory timing, we genotyped kestrels captured across autumn migration and found significant associations between migratory timing and genetic variation in metabolic and light-input pathway genes that modulate biological clocks (top1, phlpp1, cpne4 and peak1). Further, we demonstrate that migrating individuals originated from a single panmictic source population, suggesting the existence of distinct early and late migratory genotypes (i.e. chronotypes). Overall, our results provide empirical support for the existence of a within-population-level polymorphism in genes underlying migratory timing in a diurnally migrating raptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christen M. Bossu
- Biology Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
- Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Julie A. Heath
- Raptor Research Center and Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA
| | - Gregory S. Kaltenecker
- Intermountain Bird Observatory, Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA
| | - Barbara Helm
- Department of Bird Migration, Swiss Ornithological Institute, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Kristen C. Ruegg
- Biology Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
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Conkling TJ, Vander Zanden HB, Allison TD, Diffendorfer JE, Dietsch TV, Duerr AE, Fesnock AL, Hernandez RR, Loss SR, Nelson DM, Sanzenbacher PM, Yee JL, Katzner TE. Vulnerability of avian populations to renewable energy production. R Soc Open Sci 2022; 9:211558. [PMID: 35360356 PMCID: PMC8965424 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Renewable energy production can kill individual birds, but little is known about how it affects avian populations. We assessed the vulnerability of populations for 23 priority bird species killed at wind and solar facilities in California, USA. Bayesian hierarchical models suggested that 48% of these species were vulnerable to population-level effects from added fatalities caused by renewables and other sources. Effects of renewables extended far beyond the location of energy production to impact bird populations in distant regions across continental migration networks. Populations of species associated with grasslands where turbines were located were most vulnerable to wind. Populations of nocturnal migrant species were most vulnerable to solar, despite not typically being associated with deserts where the solar facilities we evaluated were located. Our findings indicate that addressing declines of North American bird populations requires consideration of the effects of renewables and other anthropogenic threats on both nearby and distant populations of vulnerable species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara J. Conkling
- U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID 87648, USA
| | | | | | - Jay E. Diffendorfer
- U.S. Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225, USA
| | - Thomas V. Dietsch
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Carlsbad, CA 92008, USA
| | | | - Amy L. Fesnock
- Desert District Office, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Palm Springs, CA 92262, USA
| | - Rebecca R. Hernandez
- Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Wild Energy Initiative, John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Scott R. Loss
- Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
| | - David M. Nelson
- Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, MD 21532, USA
| | - Peter M. Sanzenbacher
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office, Palm Springs, CA 92262, USA
| | - Julie L. Yee
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - Todd E. Katzner
- U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID 87648, USA
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Hernandez RR, Tanner KE, Haji S, Parker IM, Pavlik BM, Moore-O’Leary KA. Simulated Photovoltaic Solar Panels Alter the Seed Bank Survival of Two Desert Annual Plant Species. Plants (Basel) 2020; 9:E1125. [PMID: 32878043 PMCID: PMC7570262 DOI: 10.3390/plants9091125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Seed bank survival underpins plant population persistence but studies on seed bank trait-environment interactions are few. Changes in environmental conditions relevant to seed banks occur in desert ecosystems owing to solar energy development. We developed a conceptual model of seed bank survival to complement methodologies using in-situ seed bank packets. Using this framework, we quantified the seed bank survival of two closely related annual desert plant species, one rare (Eriophyllum mohavense) and one common (Eriophyllum wallacei), and the seed bank-environment interactions of these two species in the Mojave Desert within a system that emulates microhabitat variation associated with solar energy development. We tracked 4860 seeds buried across 540 seed packets and found, averaged across both species, that seed bank survival was 21% and 6% for the first and second growing seasons, respectively. After two growing seasons, the rare annual had a significantly greater seed bank survival (10%) than the common annual (2%). Seed bank survival across both species was significantly greater in shade (10%) microhabitats compared to runoff (5%) and control microhabitats (3%). Our study proffers insight into this early life-stage across rare and common congeners and their environmental interactions using a novel conceptual framework for seed bank survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca R. Hernandez
- Department of Land, Air & Water Resources, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Wild Energy Initiative, John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Karen E. Tanner
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; (K.E.T.); (S.H.); (I.M.P.)
| | - Sophia Haji
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; (K.E.T.); (S.H.); (I.M.P.)
| | - Ingrid M. Parker
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; (K.E.T.); (S.H.); (I.M.P.)
| | - Bruce M. Pavlik
- Conservation Department, Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA;
| | - Kara A. Moore-O’Leary
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Southwest Region, 3020 State University Drive East, Sacramento, CA 95819, USA;
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Grodsky SM, Saul-Gershenz LS, Moore-O’Leary KA, Hernandez RR. Her Majesty's Desert Throne: The Ecology of Queen Butterfly Oviposition on Mojave Milkweed Host Plants. Insects 2020; 11:E257. [PMID: 32326147 PMCID: PMC7240705 DOI: 10.3390/insects11040257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Butterfly-host plant relationships can inform our understanding of ecological and trophic interactions that contribute to ecosystem function, resiliency, and services. The ecology of danaid-milkweed (Apocynaceae) host plant interactions has been studied in several biomes but is neglected in deserts. Our objective was to determine effects of plant traits, seasonality, and landscape-level host plant availability on selection of Mojave milkweed (Asclepias nyctaginifolia A. Gray) by ovipositing monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus plexippus) and queen butterflies (Danaus gilippus thersippus) in the Californian Mojave Desert. We surveyed all known Mojave milkweed locations in the Ivanpah Valley, California (n = 419) during early, mid-, and late spring in 2017. For each survey, we counted monarch and queen butterfly eggs on each Mojave milkweed plant. We also measured canopy cover, height, volume, and reproductive stage of each Mojave milkweed plant. We counted a total of 276 queen butterfly eggs and zero monarch butterfly eggs on Mojave milkweed host plants. We determined that count of queen butterfly eggs significantly increased with increasing Mojave milkweed canopy cover. Additionally, count of queen butterfly eggs was: (1) greater on adult Mojave milkweed plants than on juvenile and seedling plants and greater on juvenile Mojave milkweed plants than on seedling plants; and (2) greater during early spring than mid-spring-we recorded no eggs during late spring. Based on aggregation indices, queen butterfly eggs occurred on Mojave milkweed plants in a nonrandom, clustered pattern throughout the Ivanpah Valley. We provide the first evidence of trophic interactions between queen butterflies and Mojave milkweed at multiple spatial scales in the Mojave Desert, suggesting that conservation and management practices for both species should be implemented concurrently. Given its role as an herbivore, pollinator and prey, the queen butterfly may serve as a model organism for understanding effects of anthropogenic disturbance (e.g., solar energy development) on "bottom-up" and trophic interactions among soils, plants and animals in desert ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven M. Grodsky
- Wild Energy Initiative, John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA; (L.S.S.-G.); (R.R.H.)
| | - Leslie S. Saul-Gershenz
- Wild Energy Initiative, John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA; (L.S.S.-G.); (R.R.H.)
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kara A. Moore-O’Leary
- Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA;
| | - Rebecca R. Hernandez
- Wild Energy Initiative, John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA; (L.S.S.-G.); (R.R.H.)
- Department of Land, Air & Water Resources, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Teter J, Yeh S, Khanna M, Berndes G. Water impacts of U.S. biofuels: Insights from an assessment combining economic and biophysical models. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0204298. [PMID: 30265704 PMCID: PMC6161887 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2017] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Biofuels policies induce land use changes (LUC), including cropland expansion and crop switching, and this in turn alters water and soil management practices. Policies differ in the extent and type of land use changes they induce and therefore in their impact on water resources. We quantify and compare the spatially varying water impacts of biofuel crops stemming from LUC induced by two different biofuels policies by coupling a biophysical model with an economic model to simulate the economically viable mix of crops, land uses, and crop management choices under alternative policy scenarios. We assess the outputs of an economic model with a high-resolution crop-water model for major agricultural crops and potential cellulosic feedstocks in the US to analyze the impacts of three alternative policy scenarios on water balances: a counterfactual 'no-biofuels policy' (BAU) scenario, a volumetric mandate (Mandate) scenario, and a clean fuel-intensity standard (CFS) scenario incentivizing fuels based on their carbon intensities. While both biofuel policies incentivize more biofuels than in the counterfactual, they differ in the mix of corn ethanol and advanced biofuels from miscanthus and switchgrass (more corn ethanol in Mandate and more cellulosic biofuels in CFS). The two policies differ in their impact on irrigated acreage, irrigation demand, groundwater use and runoff. Net irrigation requirements increase 0.7% in Mandate and decrease 3.8% in CFS, but in both scenarios increases are concentrated in regions of Kansas and Nebraska that rely upon the Ogallala aquifer for irrigation water. Our study illustrates the importance of accounting for the overall LUC and shifts in agricultural production and management practices in response to policies when assessing the water impacts of biofuels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Teter
- International Energy Agency, Sustainable Technology Outlooks, Paris, France
| | - Sonia Yeh
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Madhu Khanna
- Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana Illinois, United States of America
| | - Göran Berndes
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Bart RR, Tague CL, Moritz MA. Effect of Tree-to-Shrub Type Conversion in Lower Montane Forests of the Sierra Nevada (USA) on Streamflow. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0161805. [PMID: 27575592 PMCID: PMC5004902 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2015] [Accepted: 08/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Higher global temperatures and increased levels of disturbance are contributing to greater tree mortality in many forest ecosystems. These same drivers can also limit forest regeneration, leading to vegetation type conversion. For the Sierra Nevada of California, little is known about how type conversion may affect streamflow, a critical source of water supply for urban, agriculture and environmental purposes. In this paper, we examined the effects of tree-to-shrub type conversion, in combination with climate change, on streamflow in two lower montane forest watersheds in the Sierra Nevada. A spatially distributed ecohydrologic model was used to simulate changes in streamflow, evaporation, and transpiration following type conversion, with an explicit focus on the role of vegetation size and aspect. Model results indicated that streamflow may show negligible change or small decreases following type conversion when the difference between tree and shrub leaf areas is small, partly due to the higher stomatal conductivity and the deep rooting depth of shrubs. In contrast, streamflow may increase when post-conversion shrubs have a small leaf area relative to trees. Model estimates also suggested that vegetation change could have a greater impact on streamflow magnitude than the direct hydrologic impacts of increased temperatures. Temperature increases, however, may have a greater impact on streamflow timing. Tree-to-shrub type conversion increased streamflow only marginally during dry years (annual precipitation < 800 mm), with most streamflow change observed during wetter years. These modeling results underscore the importance of accounting for changes in vegetation communities to accurately characterize future hydrologic regimes for the Sierra Nevada.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan R. Bart
- Earth Research Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Christina L. Tague
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Max A. Moritz
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
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