[ad_1]
Renewable energy may be more important than fossil fuels, but it does not mean it does not affect the environment.
In fact, a biodiversity hotspot in India is already starting to change because of the country's push towards alternative sources of energy.
In the Western Ghats, a mountain range that stretches across six Indian states along the coast, according to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) , Bengaluru.
As a result, they say, wind turbines are creating a "predation-free environment" that is changing the behavior and even the formation of creatures down the food chain.
Among the most notable ones in this category is the Sarada Superba golden fan-throated lizard.
The males of this species, found only in South Asia, have a flap in their throat that becomes brightly colored as they reach sexual maturity, and they use this to attract partners.
Krishna Khan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Chalkewadi plateau is located in Satara district, near the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary in the state of Maharashtra. This plateau has had one of the largest and longest-running wind farms in the region. In their study, published earlier this week in Nature Ecology & Evolution, the researchers compared the site to other protected forest areas in the neighborhood.
"The reason we picked this area is that we are the most dominant prey in that landscape … and we expect to see if there is a change in the world. And that's what we found, "Maria Thaker, co-author of the study and an assistant professor at IISc, told Quartz.
These turbines have shown that they have been approached, and that they have been approached, suggesting that they have been used to reduce the risk of injury.
The decrease in predatory attacks has occurred in the species, which, in turn, could lead to increased competition for food. Thayer and her team found that the wind turbines were less intensely colored than their counterparts from elsewhere, possibly because of the limited availability of beetles, which are among the lizards' favorite foods and carotenoids that help pigmentation. The change in coloring, the researchers argue, could have consequences for sexual selection.
While the long-term ramification of all this is yet unknown, Thaker says, in theory, it could be a cascading effect at the bottom of the food chain.
This is one of the less-talked-about results of India's move to produce more renewable energy, which has accelerated under the Narendra Modi-led government. GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022. This includes 60 GW from wind energy, which has fueled the development of wind farm infrastructure across India, including along the Western Ghats, a UNESCO world heritage site that is believed to host at least 325 threatened species of flora, fauna, birds, and reptiles.
While the study is focused on just one platform, the environmental risks of wind farm infrastructure have been documented around the world, especially with regard to a diminishing of birds in the vicinity of large turbines. And even in India, the spread of renewable energy in the world of the endangered Great Indian Bustard in its last remaining habitat in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra.
Aim Thaker says these results do not mean
"In the choice between wind turbines and fossil fuels, it's always wind turbines," she explained. "Let's be smart about where we put them. Do not put them in areas that are unique or special or biodiverse gold, because we'll regret it if those places change. "
Wind turbines should be placed atop buildings or in areas that are already irreversibly damaged by human activity, she suggests, instead of within India's pristine forests.
Feature image by Ashwin Kumar on Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Inline image by Krishna Khan on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Source link
