Journal of
Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2018 | 10(7):
11925–11927
Do
Black-naped Hares Lepus nigricollis (Mammalia:Lagomorpha: Leporidae) have
synanthropic association with wind farms?
V. Anoop 1, P.R. Arun 2 & Rajah Jayapal 3
1,2,3 Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Moongilpallam, Anaikatty (PO),
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641108, India
1 pvanoop1@gmail.com (corresponding
author), 2 eiasacon@gmail.com, 3 rajah.jp@gmail.com
doi: http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3411.10.7.11925-11927
Editor: MewaSingh, University of Mysore, Mysuru,
India. Date
of publication: 26 June 2018 (online & print)
Manuscript details: Ms # 3411 |
Received 15 March 2017 | Final received 19 March 2018 | Finally accepted 29 May
2018
Citation: Anoop, V., P.R. Arun& R. Jayapal (2018). Do Black-naped Hares Lepus nigricollis(Mammalia: Lagomorpha: Leporidae)
have synanthropic association with wind farms? Journal of Threatened
Taxa 10(7): 11925–11927; http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3411.10.7.11925-11927
Copyright: © Anoop et al. 2018. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution
by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Funding: CLP wind farms (India) Ltd.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements:Authors are grateful to the funding agencies and The
Director, SACON.
Abstract: Wind energy is an upcoming major source
of clean energy. The unprecedented
proliferation of wind farms across landscapes has raised concerns on the
environmental impacts. Generally
reported direct impacts of wind farms include collision of birds and bats with
turbines, habitat alterations, noise pollution from the turbines, aesthetic
impact on landscapes and displacement of faunal species. Here we report our preliminary results
indicating an apparent positive association of Indian Hares Lepus nigricollis with a wind farm in a scrub forest
area. This study was conducted at
Harada Reserve Forest near Harapanahalli of Davangere District, Karnataka, India. The pellet count method was used for
comparing the abundance of the species between areas. The abundance of Indian Hares in wind
farm area was significantly higher than in the surrounding forest area without
turbines. The factors that might be
affecting this pattern of preferential use of wind farm area by the Indian Hare
are discussed and the scope for further studies also highlighted.
Keywords: Impact, Indian Hare, positive
association, population, wind farms.
The
traditional non-renewable energy from finite resources such as petroleum, coal
and nuclear energy entailing high environmental impacts is unsustainable in the
long run and hence there is increasing global attention towards renewable
energy like solar and wind. While a
renewable resource is a cleaner source of energy, it also has its own share of
environmental impacts albeit at a lesser magnitude than the non-renewable.
The
growth of wind energy sector in India has been surpassing the planned additions
in the respective five-year plans. Among the Indian states, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Andhra Pradesh have the maximum potential and installed capacities in wind
sector. The unprecedented rate of
expansion of wind farms is also raising several concerns regarding their
impacts on local biodiversity. Alteration of an ecosystem and subsequent disturbances will change the
faunal composition resulting in changes in local fauna. The shift in avifaunal territories due
to roads, supporting structures and the activities during their operation is of
major concern for birds (Kuvlesky et al. 2007). The major reported impacts of wind farms
are: (1) habitat destruction (Larsen & Madsen 2000; Larsen & Guillematte 2007), (2) impact on aerial/flying fauna,
especially birds and bats (Nelson & Curry 1995; Howe et al. 2002; Barclay
et al. 2007; Kunz et al. 2007; Bernardino et al. 2013; Narwadeet al. 2013), (3) noise pollution (Rabin & Owings 2006), and (4)
visual/aesthetic impacts on landscapes. Several studies have shown that certain faunal groups, especially
raptors, tend to avoid the wind farm sites (Arun et
al. 2015). Though the installation
of wind farms started in India in the early 80s, studies on impact of wind
farms on wild species is scarce from Indian subcontinent (Pandeet al. 2013; Arun et al. 2014, 2015). In the case of many species of raptors,
displacement from foraging sites has been reported because of the establishment
of windmills (Whitefield & Coupar 2005); however,
studies on the response of mammals, other than bats, to wind farms are scarce.
The
Indian Hare Lepus nigricollis,also called Black-naped hare, is a common species
of hare in the Indian subcontinent, categorized as Least Concern by IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species (Maheswaran et al.
2008). The
species is also introduced in many of the islands of Andamansby humans (IUCN 2016). Recent studies have shown that birds and mammals adapt to adjust with
development through synurbization (process by which
animals adjust to human made habitat changes (Luniak 2004). We examined whether the
habitat use of the Indian Hare in and around a wind farm shows any evidence of synanthropism (the propensity of an organism to associate
with humans or altered habitats ecologically).
Material and
Methods
The
study was conducted at Harada Reserve Forest near Harapanahalliof Davangere District, Karnataka from September 2014
to February 2015. The wind farm
study area is located within this reserve forest occupying a 56.5km2 area
(between 14.75–14.880N & 75.79–75.850E). The area is predominantly scrub forest,
with major tree species being Anogeissus latifolia, Chioroxylons weitenia and Albizia amara.
We used
the pellet count method to ascertain the presence of hare in this study. Four 500m transects were laid in the
Harada forest reserve where two transects were within the wind farm and the
other two were in the non-turbine areas of forest (Fig. 1). We put 16 quadrats of 5.08cm width and
3.04m length perpendicular to each transect
approximately at 30m intervals (Krebs et al. 1987, 2001). The thin quadrats were
sampled effectively by two persons in each field trip and the number of
all fresh pellets of hare found inside the quadrats was recorded. The new and old pellets were
distinguished based on their colour. Only yellow colour pellets were considered as new.
The
hare density in the study area was calculated from the pellet counts using the
following equation (Krebs 1989).
Hare
density / ha = 1.567*EXP((0.888962*(LN(mean no. of pellets per quadrat)))- 1.203391)
where, the
only variable is the pellet count per quadrat and other three are constant
values.
Results
In
order to compare the sighting records in the two sites, we used independent
samples t test. Since the data set
did not follow normal distribution (Kolmogorov-Smirnov value-0.00), we
transformed the data to log 10 which confirmed normal
distribution (Kolmogorov-Smirnov value -0.190). During the study, the Indian Hare was
found to be using the wind farm areas more (3.34 individuals/ hectare) than
non-turbine area (1.37 individuals/ hectare) (t (df=56)=2.93,
P=0.005).
Discussion
The
higher use of the wind turbine area than the surrounding non-turbine forest
areas by the Indian Hare is quite interesting. The role of various possible determinant
variables that might have caused this difference was not examined during this study, however, this result throws up a lot of new questions
on the response of mammals to wind farm sites. Multiple long termstudies only can confirm whether this observed pattern is consistent in wind
farm sites. A detailed
investigation is needed on this aspect to identify the factors which help the
population of hares thrive in wind farm areas. The study from Portugal by Santos et al. (2010) showed a decline of vertebrate populations in wind farm sites. The reasons for the decline included
direct disturbances, structural habitat changes and behavioural
segregations. The Mediterranean
region is known to be fire prone and the impact of wind farms is an additional
threat to the biodiversity (Santos et al. 2010). Behavioural changes of California Ground
Squirrels Spermophilus beecheyiin terms of their anti-predator call in the presence of the background noise
from the wind turbines are also reported (Rabin & Owings 2006; Kikuchi
2008). The role of predatory
pressures, competitors and forest fire regimes will be worth looking into in
future studies for understanding the dynamics of mammal populations using wind
farm area. Long
term studies can provide more insights into the role of wind turbines
and associated factors in the habitat selection of such faunal species. The present result indicate that apart
from the well-known negative impacts of wind farms like mortality from
collision of birds and bats with turbines, there are other ecological phenomena
like synanthropic associations fostered among other
faunal groups such as small mammals that need further scientific attention.
References
Arun, P.R., R. Jaypal& V. Anoop (2015). Impact of Hara wind power project of CLP
wind farms (India) Ltd. on wildlife including migratory birds and raptors at Harapanahalli, Davangere, Karnataka. SACON Technical report, SACON, 60pp.
Arun, P.R., M.S. Ali & S.R. Kumar (2014). Monitoring the Impacts of Jangi Wind Power Farm (91.8 MW) with Special Reference to
Birds and Bats. Technical report, SACON, Coimbatore, 92pp.
Bernardino, J., R. Bispo,
H. Costa & M. Mascarenhas (2013). Estimating bird and bat fatality at wind
farms: a practical overview of estimators, their assumptions and limitations. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 40(1): 63–74.
Barclay, R.M., R. Baerwald& J.C. Gruver (2007). Variation in bat and bird fatalities at wind energy facilities:
assessing the effects of rotor size and tower height. Canadian
Journal of Zoology 85(3): 381–387.
Howe, R.W., W. Evans & A.T. Wolf
(2002). Effects of Wind Turbines on Birds and Bats in North Eastern
Wisconsin. Wisconsin Public Service Corporation,
Madison, Wisconsin, 104pp.
Kikuchi, R. (2008). Adverse impacts of wind power generation
on collision behaviour of birds and anti-predator behaviour of squirrels. Journal for Nature Conservation 16(1): 44–55.
Kuvlesky, W.P., L.A. Brennan Jr., M.L. Morrison,
K.K. Boydstone, B.M. Ballard & F.C. Bryant
(2007). Wind energy
development and wildlife conservation: challenges and opportunities. Journal of Wildlife Management 71: 2487–98.
Kunz, T.H., E.B. Arnett, B.M. Cooper, W.P.
Erickson, R.P. Larkin, T. Mabee & J.M. Szewczak (2007). Assessing impacts of wind-energy
development on nocturnally active birds and bats: a guidance document. Journal
of Wildlife Management 71(8) : 2449–2486.
Krebs, C.J., B.S. Gilbert, S. Boutin & R. Boonstra (1987). Estimation of snowshoe hare population
density from turd transects. Canadian Journal of Zoology65: 565–567.
Krebs, J.C., R. Boonstra,
V. Nams, M.O. Donoghue, K.E. Hodges & S. Boutin (2001). Estimating snowshoe hare population density from pellet plot: A further
evaluation. Canadian Journal of Zoology 79: 1–4.
Luniak, M. (2004). Synurbizatio-adaptation of Animal Wildlife to Urban Development. Proceedings 4th International Urban Wildlife symposium,
50–55pp.
Larsen, J.K. & J. Madsen (2000). Effects of wind turbines and other
physical elements on field utilization by Pink-footed Geese (Anser brachyrhynchus):
A landscape perspective. Landscape Ecology 15(8): 755–764.
Larsen, J.K. & M. Guillematte(2007). Effect
of wind turbines on flight behaviour of wintering common eiders: implications
for habitat use and collision risk. Journal Applied
Ecology 44: 516–522.
Maheswaran, G. &
M. Jordan (2008). Lepus nigricollis:
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:e.T41282A10432461.
IUCN. Retrieved from http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41282/0
Nelson, H.K. & R.C. Curry (1995). Assessing avian interactions with windplant development and operation. Transaction
of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources conference 60:
266–287.
Narwade, S.S., P.A. Shaikh,
M.V. Prabhu & A.R. Rahmani(2013). Review of
existing global guidelines, policies, and methodologies for the study of impact
of windmills on birds and bats: requirements in India. BUCEROS18(1&2): 1– 48.
Pande, S., A. Padhye,
P. Deshpande, A. Ponkshe,
P. Pandit, A. Pawashe &
P. Deshpande (2013). Avian collision threat
assessment at Bhambarwadi Wind Farm Plateau in
northern Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5(1):
3504–3515; http://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3096.210
Rabin, L.A., R.G. Coss& D.H. Owings (2006). The effect of wind turbines on antipredatorbehaviour in California Ground Squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi). Biological Conservation131: 410-420.
Santos, M., R. Bastos,
P. Travassos, R. Bessa, M. Repas, J. Alexandre & J.A.
Cabral (2010). Predicting the trends of vertebrate species richness as a response to
wind farms installation in mountain ecosystems of northwest Portugal. Ecological Indicators 10: 192–205.
Whitfield, D.P. & A. Coupar (2008). Effects of terrestrial
wind farms on birds and upland habitats, pp. 205–220. In:
Galbraith, C.A. & J.M. Baxter (eds.). Energy and the
Natural Heritage. The Stationery Office,
Edinburgh.