The effects of power lines on ungulates and implications for power line routing and rights-of-way management

Bartzke, Gundula; May, Roelof Frans; Bevanger, Kjetil; Stokke, Sigbjørn

doi:10.5897/ijbc2014.0716

Cited by 22 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…In total this 44 year observation series strengthen our previous conclusion (Reimers et al, 2007). Furthermore, it also supports more recent research (Panzacchi et al, 2013a;Bartzke et al, 2014;Colman et al, 2015;Eftestøl et al, 2016;Plante et al, 2018;Skarin et al, 2018) that power lines transecting reindeer habitats have limited effects on reindeer area use. This is contradictory to findings that linear structures such as power lines act as long-term barriers for both wild and domestic reindeer (Nellemann et al, 2001;Nellemann et al, 2003;Vistnes et al, 2004;Vistnes et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Reindeer fidelity to high quality winter pastures outcompete power line barrier effects

Reimers¹,

Eftestøl²,

Alemu³

et al. 2020

Ran

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We investigated barrier effects of a 66 kV power line established in 1966 before and after the line was upgraded to 132 kV in 2004 over a period of 44 years (1974-2017) in the North Ottadalen wild reindeer area (3245 km2) of which 1038 km2 are in use as winter pastures. The power line transects a peninsula (135 km2) with high quality winter pastures in the southeast periphery. The reindeer population originated from a nucleus herd of 402 animals of domestic origin released in the area in 1964-1965 and 100 resident wild animals. Yearly winter survey started in 1974 and reindeer were first surveyed south of the 66 kV power line in 1982. Comparing the number of animals recorded in the peninsula vs. the number of individuals expected relative to available grazing area during the three periods (1974-2004, 1982-2004 and 2005-2017), the number of animals recorded in the peninsula was 3.6–4.9 times higher than expected. Since the upgrade of the power line, a substantial part of the reindeer population grazed in the peninsula every year. We therefore conclude that there was no long-term barrier effect from the original power line and no barrier effects at all from the upgrade. However, during the first 5 surveys of this study, there were no animals in the peninsula. Therefore, even if there are several possible reasons for this, we cannot exclude the possibility of short-term barrier effects resulting from the construction of the original power line. Our results support recent studies that report no effects from existing power lines and contrast some previous findings that have reported strong long-term barrier and avoidance effects of such infrastructure for Rangifer migration and grazing behaviour.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Reindeer fidelity to high quality winter pastures outcompete power line barrier effects

Reimers¹,

Eftestøl²,

Alemu³

et al. 2020

Ran

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“…Thus, changes in the composition and structure of vegetation may result in the loss of features that forest‐dwelling animals require (e.g., Wilson et al , Asari et al ) or in invasion by competitors (Goosem and Marsh ) or predators (James and Stuart‐Smith ). The fact that such changes may sometimes attract animals (i.e., negative avoidance [e.g., Johnson et al , Loft and Menke , Clarke et al , Neumann et al , Rytwinski and Fahrig , see also Bartzke et al ]) simply illustrates how important habitat structure is for animal distribution. Reduced density of ground‐nesting birds near power lines has similarly been attributed to predation hazard following the invasion of raptors that use masts as perches (Lammers and Collopy , Pruett et al ).…”

Section: Avoidance Of Linear Infrastructure: Indirect and Direct Causesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cryptic impact: Visual detection of corona light and avoidance of power lines by reindeer

Tyler

Stokkan²,

Hogg

et al. 2016

Wildl. Soc. Bull.

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Assessing the impact of human development on animals is complicated by the fact that overt effects may have covert causes. Cryptic impacts (sensu Raiter et al. 2014) can arise where sensory stimuli to which species respond fall outside the human sensory range. Ultraviolet (UV) light, which is detected by a range of nonprimate mammals, is a potential example. We review evidence that dark-adapted eyes of reindeer-caribou Rangifer tarandus can detect light at 330-410 nm emitted by electrical corona on highvoltage power lines, which is necessarily barely visible to humans. Based on this, we suggest that the superior ability of Rangifer to detect corona UV light may partly account for the tendency of the animals to avoid power lines. Rangifer has UV-permissive ocular media that transmit approximately 15 times more corona light than human eyes. Retinal irradiance under full dilation is in the order of 7 times greater in Rangifer compared with humans. Seasonal transformation of the tapetum lucidum substantially increases retinal sensitivity in this species in winter. Threshold distances of detection of corona by Rangifer are in the order of hundreds of meters. Displays of corona may catch the animals' attention, and plume coronas, in particular, may induce the illusion of motion (the phi phenomenon), thereby falsely signaling the presence of potential predators. Both features are likely to increase wariness and cause animals to withdraw from the source of the stimulus. We suggest that spatial and temporal variability of corona contributes to substantial variation observed in the strength and persistence of avoidance responses in Rangifer at these structures. Ó 2016 The Wildlife Society.KEY WORDS Arctic, barrier effects, environmental impact, Rangifer tarandus, tapetum lucidum, ultraviolet light, vision.Assessing the impact of human development on animals in natural habitat is complicated by the fact that overt effects may have covert causes. "Cryptic impacts" (sensu Raiter et al. 2014) arise, for instance, where anthropogenic stimuli to which species respond fall outside the human sensory range and are, therefore, liable to be overlooked because of divergence in the sensory abilities of animals and man. Ultraviolet (UV) light, which is detected by a range of large, nonprimate mammals (Douglas and Jeffery 2014), is a potential example. In this paper we argue 1) that darkadapted eyes of reindeer-caribou (Rangifer tarandus; hereafter, "Rangifer") can detect light emitted by corona discharges on high-voltage power lines, which is barely visible to humans; and 2) that threshold distances of detection are in the order of hundreds of meters. The corona effect is described below. In this paper the term "power line" includes masts (also known as "towers" or "utility poles"), insulators and cables (wire conductors) but does not include linear clearings (also known as "utility corridors" or "easements") cut where power lines pass through dense vegetation. We do not distinguish power lines by operating voltage but refer t...

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“…However, some cases and magnitudes of impact differ from roads for instance electrocution, rail entrapments and wire strikes, therefore demand different mitigation measures. The power lines pose additional effects of electromagnetic fields which cause avoidance by some animals (Bartzke et al, 2014) . Oil spills from pipelines add to the effects, despite being rare they can be very devastating on environment and last for longer time (Richardson et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Multiple Linear Infrastructure on Diversity of Small Mammals in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania

Kisanga¹,

Nyahongo²,

Mtemi³

2019

ENRR

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The need for rapid development in developing countries has led to establishment of major public infrastructure even in biodiversity rich protected areas. Mikumi National Park in central Tanzania is traversed by five such major infrastructures namely an optic fibre, a busy public road, an oil pipeline, power lines and railways. We assessed diversity and abundance of small terrestrial mammals of the order Eulipotyphla and Rodentia as indicator groups in relation to impacts of such infrastructure. Animals were live trapped during wet (February-April) and dry (July- September) seasons in 2018 from three established plots along the three transects set perpendicular to each of the four infrastructures. In 10102 trap nights, we captured 453 small mammals of nine species of which Mastomys natalensis constituted 75.4 % of total catch. Diversity and abundance varied between seasons, infrastructure and plots location. Dry season had significantly higher diversity than wet season and the railway site had higher diversity than the other infrastructure. The intermediate plots (500 m from infrastructure) had significantly higher abundance of animals than immediate (0-50 m) and distant (1000 m) plots. The differences in these results can be attributed by seasonal fluctuations of animal populations, and intensity of disturbance in each infrastructure and plot. It is important to examine impacts of future infrastructure developments using small mammals.

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The effects of power lines on ungulates and implications for power line routing and rights-of-way management

Cited by 22 publications

References 83 publications

Reindeer fidelity to high quality winter pastures outcompete power line barrier effects

Reindeer fidelity to high quality winter pastures outcompete power line barrier effects

Cryptic impact: Visual detection of corona light and avoidance of power lines by reindeer

Influence of Multiple Linear Infrastructure on Diversity of Small Mammals in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania

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