| dc.description.abstract | Nationally, migratory tree-roosting bats are being killed by wind turbines at an alarming rate. A similar trend has been found at the Wolf Ridge Wind, LLC site in north-central Texas. While the bats may be encountering wind turbines incidentally due to geographical convergence of their migratory paths with wind energy facilities, the bats may also be specifically targeting the turbines for use as foraging sites. Due to limited data regarding the diet of tree-roosting bat species at wind energy sites such as Wolf Ridge, comparisons between preferred prey and local insect populations have not been conducted, and it remains unknown if the bats are being attracted by particular insect species. Utilizing DNA bar-coding, bat fecal samples and moth specimens found at Wolf Ridge Wind, LLC were sequenced and, through genetic comparison, the particular moths included in the bats' diets were identified. | |
