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Potential impact of wind farms on territories of large eagles in southeastern Spain

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Abstract

Although wind farms in Spain have increased in numbers in recent years, their impact on birds, particularly large raptors, has received relatively little attention in the scientific literature. We study the potential impact of 72 wind energy developments planned for the south-east of Spain covering 128 golden eagle and 152 Bonelli’s eagle territories using nearest neighbour distances (NND) as an indicator of potential future interactions (abandonment, displacement and collision risk). Our analyses indicate low levels of potential interactions between wind farms and large eagles, and suggest that, of the two species studied, golden eagles will be the more affected because a greater proportion of wind farms will be constructed close to the breeding territories of this species. In the light of these findings, we discuss various management strategies in order to improve the compatibility of harvesting wind energy with the conservation of both species.

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Acknowledgments

María Abellán helped with maps. Alejandro Izquierdo provided helpful suggestions on a previous draft. Philip Thomas helped to improve the English. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bonelli’s Eagle Study and Conservation Group, Plaza de Toledo,10-5°E, 30009, Murcia, Spain

    J. E. Martínez, E. Cerezo & G. J. Gómez

  2. Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    J. F. Calvo & C. González

  3. C/Juan de la Cierva, 43 El Campello, 03560, Alicante, Spain

    J. A. Martínez

  4. E. Medioambientales Icarus, S.L. Pintor Sorolla 6, 1°C, 26007, Logroño, Spain

    I. Zuberogoitia

  5. C/Zaragoza, 12-4º Almería, 04001, Almería, Spain

    J. Manrique

  6. C/Costa Cálida, 16 Almería, 04009, Almería, Spain

    J. C. Nevado

  7. C/Lucainena de las Torres, 1-4ºD Almería, 04008, Almería, Spain

    M. Sánchez

  8. C/Balanegra, 8 Almería, 04008, Almería, Spain

    R. Sánchez

  9. C/Jardineros, 9 Guardias Viejas., 04715, Almería, Spain

    J. Bayo

  10. C/Almería, 3 Albánchez. Almería, 04857, Almería, Spain

    A. Pallarés

  11. C/San Juan, 7 Huércal-Overa, 04600, Almería, Spain

    J. M. Gómez

  12. C/Granada, 7-2º dcha.Vélez-Rubio, 04820, Almería, Spain

    P. Pérez

  13. C/Albox, 10 Vélez-Rubio, 04820, Almería, Spain

    J. Motos

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  1. J. E. Martínez
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  2. J. F. Calvo
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  3. J. A. Martínez
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  4. I. Zuberogoitia
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  5. E. Cerezo
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  6. J. Manrique
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  7. G. J. Gómez
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  9. M. Sánchez
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  13. C. González
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  14. J. M. Gómez
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  15. P. Pérez
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  16. J. Motos
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Correspondence to J. E. Martínez.

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Martínez, J.E., Calvo, J.F., Martínez, J.A. et al. Potential impact of wind farms on territories of large eagles in southeastern Spain. Biodivers Conserv 19, 3757–3767 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-010-9925-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-010-9925-7

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