Effects of wind turbines on area use and behaviour of semi-domestic reindeer in enclosures

In recent decades, industrial developments have expanded into reindeer ranges in the arctic and adjacent higher latitudes in search for energy, minerals, timber and other resources. Several wind turbine parks are under planning in reindeer ranges in Norway, and there is concern about possible negative effects on behaviour and area use of wild and semi-domestic reindeer. We tested whether a wind turbine and its rotor movement had any effect on area use, activity changes, vigilance bouts, and restless behaviour like running, walking, and standing for enclosed semi-domestic reindeer. Five different groups of reindeer in a 450 m long, 8 hectare, enclosure close to a wind turbine were manipulated by turning the wind turbine rotor on and off, and compared with reindeer in a control enclosure without wind turbine exposure. When exposed to rotor movement, two groups used locations farther from the wind turbine, two groups showed no shift, while one group moved closer to the wind turbine. The reindeer showed no systematic differences in the measured behaviour patterns between the two enclosures that could indicate fright or stress as a consequence of the wind turbine or rotor movement. We conclude that semi-domestic reindeer in an enclosure showed no negative behavioural response and little or no aversion towards a wind turbine. The possibility of rapid habituation in a small enclosure with continuous wind turbine exposure suggests that effects on area use should be studied at a larger scale or with free-ranging reindeer. Abstract in Norwegian / Sammendrag: I lopet av de senere tiar har industriell utbygging til utnytting av energi, mineraler, tommer og andre ressurser ekspandert inn i reinens beiteomrader i nordomradene. Flere vindmolleparker er under planlegging i norske reinbeiteomrader, og det spekuleres i mulige konsekvenser av disse pa atferd og arealbruk hos villrein og tamrein. Vi testet om en vindmolle og dens rotorbevegelse hadde noen effekt pa arealbruk, aktivitetsskifter, vaktsomhetsatferd, og rastloshetsatferd i form av lop, gange og staing for tamrein i innhegning. I en 450 m lang innhegning pa 8 hektar som var plassert tett opp til en vindmolle, ble fem forskjellig grupper av reinsdyr manipulert ved a sla vindmollerotoren av og pa. Reinsdyrene i innhegningen ved vindmollen ble sammenlignet med reinsdyr i en kontrollinnhegning som var uten pavirkning fra vindmoller. Nar reinsdyrene ble utsatt for vindmollerotoren i bevegelse, viste to grupper av dyr et skifte i arealbruk til omrader av innhegningen som var lenger unna mollen, to grupper av dyr viste ikke noe skifte i arealbruk, mens en gruppe dyr beveget seg naermere vindmollen. Sammenligning av atferden hos reinsdyrene i vindmolleinnhegningen og kontrollinnhegningen viste ingen systematisk forskjell som kunne indikere frykt eller stress som en effekt av vindmollen eller rotorbevegelsen. Vi konkluderer med at tamrein i innhegning ikke viser negative atferdsresponser og viser lite eller ingen reduksjon i arealbruken tett opp til en vindmolle. Muligheten for at det skjer en rask tilvenning i en liten innhegning der dyrene er i kontinuerlig pavirkning av vindmollen betyr at effekter pa arealbruk bor studeres i et storre arealperspektiv eller pa frittgaende rein.

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