Why Study Wildlife and Renewable Energy?
BRI’s Wildlife and Renewable Energy Program represents some of the foremost expertise on offshore wind energy development and volant wildlife (e.g., birds and bats) in the eastern United States.
BRI biologists are conducting a range of research, marine spatial planning, and stakeholder engagement efforts to help inform renewable energy development and minimize wildlife impacts. This includes studying the distributions, movements, and habitat use of birds, bats, marine mammals, sea turtles, and other wildlife. This also includes working with stakeholders to identify data gaps and research needs, develop best management practices, and facilitate coordination of research efforts in the eastern U.S.
Our Wildlife and Renewable Energy Program works collaboratively with BRI’s other programs to carry out research studies that cross-species lines and geographic boundaries and enhance our overall knowledge of wildlife and ecosystems that may be affected by the development of alternative energy.
Program Director:
Contributing Staff:
Highlighted Species We Study
Bats
Marine Birds
Songbirds
Sea ducks
Raptors
Wildlife and Renewable Energy Research at BRI
Select Publications
- NYSERDA. 2020. Stakeholder Workshop: Scientific Research Framework to Understand the Effects of Offshore Wind Energy Development on Birds and Bats in the Eastern United States. Building Energy Exchange, March 4-6, 2020. NYSERDA Report 20-26. Prepared by J Gulka and K Williams, Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland ME. nyserda.ny.gov/publications
- Stenhouse, I. J., A. M. Berlin, A. T. Gilbert, M. W. Goodale, C. E. Gray, W. A. Montevecchi, L. Savoy, & C. S. Spiegel. 2020. Assessing the exposure of three diving bird species to offshore wind areas on the U.S. Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf using satellite telemetry. Divers. Distrib. 26(12):1703-1714.
- Allison, TD, J Diffendorfer, E Baerwald, J Beston, D Bigger, D Drake, A Hale, C Hein, M Huso, S Loss, J Lovich, D Strickland, K Williams, V Winder. 2019. The ecological impacts of the siting and operation of wind energy in the United States. Issues in Ecology 21:1-24.
- NYSERDA. 2019. The Dynamic Ocean: Offshore Wind Energy and Other Activities in the New York Bight. NYSERDA Report 19-39. Prepared by: KA Williams, I Stenhouse, J Gulka, and D Meattey, Biodiversity Research Institute (Portland, ME). 20 pp.
- Sussman, AL, B Gardner, EM Adams, L Salas, KP Kenow, DR Luukkonen, MJ Monfils, WP Mueller, KA Williams, M Leduc-Lapierre, EF Zipkin. A comparative analysis of common methods to identify waterbird hotspots. 2019. Methods in Ecology & Evolution 10:1454-1468.
- Gulka, JG and KA Williams. 2019. The State of the Science on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy Development: Proceedings for a Workshop held November 13-14, 2018, in Woodbury, New York. 84 pp. Available at: https://www.nyetwg.com/past-workshops
- Goyert, HF, B Gardner, RR Veit, AT Gilbert, EE Connelly, M Duron, S. Johnson & KA Williams. 2018. Evaluating habitat, prey, and mesopredator associations in a community of marine birds. ICES Journal of Marine Science 75(5):1602-1612.
- Williams, KA, EE Connelly, SM Johnson & IJ Stenhouse, eds. 2015. Wildlife Densities and Habitat Use Across Temporal and Spatial Scales on the Mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf: Final Report to the Department of Energy Wind & Water Power Technologies Office. Report BRI 2015-11. 715 pp.
