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Electricity-generating wind turbines are an attractive energy source because they are renewable and produce no emissions. However, they have at least two potentially damaging ecological effects. Their rotating blades are hazardous to raptors which occasionally fly into them. And wind turbines are very noisy when active, a feature that may interfere with the lives of animals beneath them. We studied California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area of Northern California. These squirrels emit vocalizations that alert others to the presence of a predator, and so may be forced to compensate for turbine noise by modifying antipredator behavior. We compared the antipredator behavior...
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Conclusions: Richardson's ground squirrels prefer short grass native prairie / pasture but can also occupy small isolated islands within cropland. These squirrels prefer open prairies and tend to select against heavily forested areas. *Note that this study generated landscape level models with coarse variables, and the thresholds and values used may not be directly applicable to other areas or for site-specific analysis. Thresholds/Learnings: A threshold amount of 20% graminoid coverage is the minimum suitable proportion for habitat suitability for Richarson's ground squirrel. Areas with less than 20% forest/shrub cover were considered sutiable habitat, while those greater than 40% were considered unsuitable*. ...
Electricity-generating wind turbines are an attractive energy source because they are renewable and produce no emissions. However, they have at least two potentially damaging ecological effects. Their rotating blades are hazardous to raptors which occasionally fly into them. And wind turbines are very noisy when active, a feature that may interfere with the lives of animals beneath them. We studied California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area of Northern California. These squirrels emit vocalizations that alert others to the presence of a predator, and so may be forced to compensate for turbine noise by modifying antipredator behavior. We compared the antipredator behavior...


    map background search result map search result map Richardson's Ground Squirrel. Richardson's Ground Squirrel.