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dc.contributor.authorAgnew, Roseanna
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Valerie Jane
dc.contributor.authorFowkes, Robert
dc.date.accessioned2016-07-26T09:30:06Z
dc.date.available2016-07-26T09:30:06Z
dc.date.issued2016-07
dc.identifier.citationAgnew , R , Smith , V J & Fowkes , R 2016 , ' Wind turbines cause chronic stress in badgers ( Meles meles ) in Great Britain ' , Journal of Wildlife Diseases , vol. 52 , no. 3 , pp. 459-467 . https://doi.org/10.7589/2015-09-231en
dc.identifier.issn0090-3558
dc.identifier.otherPURE: 244482420
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: 79fa5d3b-92e3-4e3a-8cef-f1bf2d10096a
dc.identifier.otherScopus: 84979656583
dc.identifier.otherWOS: 000381528700002
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/9208
dc.description.abstractA paucity of data exists with which to assess the effects of wind turbines noise on terrestrial wildlife, despite growing concern about the impact of infrasound from wind farms on human health and well-being. In 2013, we assessed whether the presence of turbines in Great Britain impacted the stress levels of badgers (Meles meles) in nearby setts. Hair cortisol levels were used to determine if the badgers were physiologically stressed. Hair of badgers living >1 km of a wind farm had a 264% higher cortisol level than badgers <10 km from a wind farm. This demonstrates that affected badgers suffer from enhanced hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal activity and are physiologically stressed. No differences were found between the cortisol levels of badgers living near wind farms operational since 2009 and 2012, indicating that the animals do not become habituated to turbine disturbance. Cortisol levels in the affected badgers did not vary in relation to the distance from turbines within 1 km, wind farm annual power output, or number of turbines. We suggest that the higher cortisol levels in affected badgers is caused by the turbines' sound and that these high levels may affect badgers' immune systems, which could result in increased risk of infection and disease in the badger population.
dc.format.extent9
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofJournal of Wildlife Diseasesen
dc.rights© 2016, Wildlife Disease Association. This work is made available online by kind permission of the publisher. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at www.jwildlifedis.org / https://dx.doi.org/10.7589/2015-09-231en
dc.subjectBadgersen
dc.subjectCortisolen
dc.subjectHairen
dc.subjectStressen
dc.subjectWind turbineen
dc.subjectMeles melesen
dc.subjectGE Environmental Sciencesen
dc.subjectQH301 Biologyen
dc.subjectSDG 3 - Good Health and Well-beingen
dc.subject.lccGEen
dc.subject.lccQH301en
dc.titleWind turbines cause chronic stress in badgers (Meles meles) in Great Britainen
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.description.versionPostprinten
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. School of Biologyen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Instituteen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.7589/2015-09-231
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden


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