Bats in the Belgian part of the North Sea and possible impacts of offshore wind farms
Brabant, R.; Laurent, Y.; Vigin, L.; Lafontaine, R.-M.; Degraer, S. (2016). Bats in the Belgian part of the North Sea and possible impacts of offshore wind farms, in: Degraer, S. et al. (Ed.) Environmental impacts of offshore wind farms in the Belgian part of the North Sea: Environmental impact monitoring reloaded. pp. 235-246
In: Degraer, S. et al. (Ed.) (2016). Environmental impacts of offshore wind farms in the Belgian part of the North Sea: Environmental impact monitoring reloaded. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, OD Natural Environment, Marine Ecology and Management Section: Brussels. ISBN 978-90-8264-120-2. ix, 287 pp., more
Several species of bats in northern Europe undertake seasonal migrations between their summer roosts and wintering areas. Doing so, they are known to cross open sea in some cases. Taking account of the increase of wind farms in the Belgian part of the North Sea and the entire North Sea, the lack of information on the spatio-temporal distribution of bats in Belgian waters and the results of some studies (onshore) demonstrating wind turbines can cause high mortalities in bats, a taxon in global decline, it is important to quantify the risk of offshore wind farms in the North Sea to threaten bat populations.
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