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ual turbines (i.e., fatalities were distributed among <br />turbines at facilities), and current studies have not <br />identified consistent relationships with habitat vari- <br />ables; (4) Red - strobe rights recommended by the <br />Federal Aviation Administration did not influence <br />bat fatality; and (5) bat fatalities were highest during <br />periods of low wind speed, and they were related <br />to weather variables associated with the passage of <br />weather fronts. Additional studies have conclud- <br />ed that larger turbines may kill more bats (Cryan <br />and Brown 2007), bat fatalities are more clustered <br />around the base of towers than bird fatalities (Cryan <br />and Bailey 2009), and that there is also evidence on <br />non - collision decompression, a phenomenon in bats <br />where drops in air pressure cause the lungs to overex- <br />pand and fill with fluid (Baerwald et al. 2008). <br />Large numbers of bats have been killed at wind- <br />energy facilities constructed along forested ridge tops <br />in the eastern United States (Arnett 2005, Johnson <br />2005, Fiedler et al. 2007, Kunz et al. 2007). Cryan <br />and Brown (2007) hypothesize that the dominance <br />of migratory tree bats killed during summer and <br />fall at turbines and other anthropogenic structures <br />is related to flocking and mating behaviors Wind <br />turbines may offer the most prominent feature in a <br />landscape where bats can meet along their migratory <br />routes and breed (Arnett et al. 2008). There is also <br />evidence to support the hypothesis that migratory <br />bats congregate in the fall during migration (Arnett <br />et al. 2008). These mating and migration behav- <br />iors may explain why bats are disproportionately <br />affected by turbine mortality. Unlike birds, bats <br />do not collide with other tall anthropogenic struc- <br />tures with the frequency and magnitude that have <br />been observed at wind turbines (Arnett 2005, Cryan <br />. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <br />y., s <br />Fww G A) 4aAL� <br />fin.. <br />r <br />u <br />l <br />d of ,r♦V, ! ' � � Y <br />k <br />Y <br />r <br />wwwwwwwwwsw.�..�.�dk l <br />auw b � <br />f�l(✓� fM� 4� 4 u <br />L° INO, <br />5- <br />J <br />Zia <br />61, MWEMM <br />tltiN <br />�eL MM��nwI�i *w rrm 4 �d m d� fl iut% � my Willi 0I <br />Lr.tl!hr. wei'1"dMl'd�,,,M1 ird' ' V0,0b h#nIf pyW imp � M �X� ��'d���M +"dR�� : k$ !M <br />�. "'W Yp�"� 'i'�!&YI VAk h�"wld Pi1W4.x�'d'MWo � ?v 'uvuul liauiu a; do?'.'M"�vu <br />PM*Obw Y,JM n7w tl? YM :F <br />Figure 4 -8. Predicted mean annual wind speeds (meters /second) at 80 -m height for North Carolina <br />(Source: DOE 2010a). <br />