Aug

27

2008
 
 

Take a deep breath



Scientists discover cause of high bat mortality near wind turbines

quixoticismBats suffer much higher mortality near wind turbines than birds, yet quite why the echolocating mammals should fall foul to such a large solid object as a whirring rotor has mystified scientists. In a paper published this week in Current Biology, University of Calgary researcher Erin Baerwald and colleagues provide evidence that it’s not direct collisions that cause many of the fatalities, but the sudden change in air pressure as the blade sweeps through its deathly arc. The bat’s tiny lungs effectively explode: Baerwald’s study found that although around half of dead bats examined had no external evidence of injury, some ninety percent had internal damage consistent with “barotrauma”. Migrating bats are particularly prone, so one way to lessen the carnage would be to switch the turbines off on all but the windiest nights. Source: Baerwald EF, D’Amours GH, KlugBJ & Barclay RMR (2008) Barotrauma is a significant cause of bat fatalities at wind turbines. Current Biology DOI: TBA

Image: © Brian Jackson

Filed Under Climate change, Endangered species, Habitat, Monitoring, Economics and conservation, Socio-political issues, Tools and technology | 

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