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Paris (AFP) – Wind farms act as a first-rate "predator" in some ecosystems, causing damage to birds at the top of the food chain and causing a neglected training effect by human rights defenders. Green energy, scientists said Monday.
Wind energy is the fastest growing renewable energy sector, providing about 4% of global electricity demand.
Nearly 17 million hectares – an area the size of Tunisia – are currently used to produce wind energy worldwide, warned researchers that developers had "largely under -stimated "the impact of technology on wildlife.
In a new research, an international team of scientists studied the effects of using wind turbines in the Western Ghats, a mountain range and forest listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site. west coast and a global hotspot for biodiversity.
They found that predatory raptors were four times rarer in areas of the plateau where wind turbines were present, a disturbance that reverberated the chain and dramatically altered the density and behavior of bird prey.
In particular, the team observed an explosion of raptors' favorite meal, thin-throated lizards, in areas dominated by turbines.
observed significant changes in the behavior and appearance of lizards, living in an environment largely free of predators.
"What was remarkable for us is the subtle changes in the behavior, morphology and physiology of these lizards," Maria Thaker, badistant. Professor at the Center for Ecological Sciences of the Indian Institute of Science and senior author of the study, told AFP
As the number of raptors dwindled around the turbines, the rate of Attacks by predators that lizard underwent also decreased.
As a result, the team found that lizards living in and around wind farms had decreased their alertness to potential hazards.
By simulating "predator attacks", humans participating in the study could approach up to five times more than one lizard Zones of wind farms further away from wind turbines than creatures do not. s & # 39; escape.
– "Be smart with green energy" –
After tests, it was found that lizards near wind turbines exhibited lower levels of stress hormone. this must have emerged in the two decades following the construction of wind farms in the Western Ghats
Wind farms are known to be harmful to birds, disrupting their migration patterns and causing mortality rates higher than average.
Thaker stated that his research, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, showed that wind farms reproduce the role of the main predator in the food chain by keeping raptors at bay.
"They cause changes in the equilibrium of animals in an ecosystem as they were" 19659017] "These are the" predators "of raptors – not in the sense of killing them, but by reducing the presence of raptors in these areas. "
Human carbon emissions continue to increase, Thaker said that wind energy was essential to mitigate the effects of climate change.
But with evidence that the impact of wind farms extends further than expected into Earth's ecosystems, she called for greater consideration of the environmental impact of the source of vital green energy.
"Scientists have taken decades to realize that wind turbines have a negative impact on flying animals," Thaker said.
"We need to be smart about how we are deploying green energy solutions, reduce our footprint on the planet, and install turbines in previously disturbed areas, such as buildings . "
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