Near-ultraviolet light reduced Sandhill Crane collisions with a power line by 98%

Author:

Dwyer James F1ORCID,Pandey Arun K1,McHale Laura A1,Harness Richard E1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. EDM International, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Abstract

Abstract Midflight collisions with power lines impact 12 of the world’s 15 crane species, including 1 critically endangered species, 3 endangered species, and 5 vulnerable species. Power lines can be fitted with line markers to increase the visibility of wires to reduce collisions, but collisions can persist on marked power lines. For example, hundreds of Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis) die annually in collisions with marked power lines at the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary (Rowe), a major migratory stopover location near Gibbon, Nebraska. Mitigation success has been limited because most collisions occur nocturnally when line markers are least visible, even though roughly half the line markers present include glow-in-the-dark stickers. To evaluate an alternative mitigation strategy at Rowe, we used a randomized design to test collision mitigation effects of a pole-mounted near-ultraviolet light (UV-A; 380–395 nm) Avian Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) to illuminate a 258-m power line span crossing the Central Platte River. We observed 48 Sandhill Crane collisions and 217 dangerous flights of Sandhill Crane flocks during 19 nights when the ACAS was off, but just 1 collision and 39 dangerous flights during 19 nights when the ACAS was on. Thus, we documented a 98% decrease in collisions and an 82% decrease in dangerous flights when the ACAS was on. We also found a 32% decrease in the number of evasive maneuvers initiated within 25 m of the power line along the river, and a 71% increase in the number of evasive maneuvers initiated beyond 25 m when the ACAS was on. Sandhill Cranes reacted sooner and with more control, and experienced substantially fewer collisions, when the ACAS was on. Installation of the ACAS on other high-risk spans, and perhaps on other anthropogenic obstacles where birds collide, may offer a new solution to a long-running conservation dilemma.

Funder

Electric Power Research Institute

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Animal Science and Zoology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3