Turbines kill so many birds that they are a predator of the apex

Wind turbines are vital for sustainable energy because they provide cheap electricity without any pollution. But they can be deadly to birds, and new research shows how deadly they are: wind turbines kill so many birds that in the ecosystems where they are installed, they actually play the role of superior predators.

We have known for a long time that wind turbines are a danger to birds. A typical wind farm can kill thousands of birds each year, including raptors such as hawks and eagles. The real problem is the death of these larger birds because they can have repercussions on the entire ecosystem.

Take, for example, a wind farm in the Western Ghats region in India, where a group of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science conducted its study. In the wind farm sector, raptors were about four times less frequent than in other regions. They died constantly up to the turbines, which is not terrible for raptors but good news for the throat lizards, the prey of birds of prey.

In and around the wind farm, lizard populations have exploded, totally unmanaged by predation. We ate so little that they even lost almost any fear of danger. The researchers discovered that they could approach the lizards without them escaping. Lizards, in turn, have reduced the population of their own prey, causing a radical change in the ecosystem.

If humans have learned anything about ecology, it is that even small changes can completely upset the equilibrium of an ecosystem, leading to dramatic and often unpredictable changes. Deleting a species can change everything else, and usually not in a good way. The long-term consequences of the wind farm are unclear, but it will probably be bad.

The same effect is likely to occur here in the United States as well, and it is difficult to find a good solution. Some groups are experimenting with the use of loudspeakers and sound cannons to keep birds away from turbines, while others are re-evaluating how turbines are positioned to minimize bird losses. . If these solutions are not enough, it may be enough to live with altered ecosystems around wind farms. After all, not using wind turbines will have an even more negative impact on the environment.

Source: nature