Standing Together Against Violence

Standing Together Against Violence

Bat fatalities at wind farms prove unpredictable

This is photo of a wind farm, which are a threat to bats.

Credit: Fiona Mathews

Bat fatalities at wind farms prove unpredictable: Costly ecological impact assessments (EcIAs) completed prior to the building of wind farms have failed to protect bats from fatal collisions with the spinning blades. Researchers say that, for reasons that aren't yet entirely clear, that's because surveys of bat activity conducted only before building begins are poor predictors of future bat fatalities.

Why do seabirds eat plastic? The answer stinks marine plastic debris is an olfactory trap for seabirds

Great Shearwater, Ardenna gravis, in flight over sea. Plastic in ocean releases a sulfuric scent that prompts seabirds to forage. The scent is the same smell released by algae when it's being eaten by krill, a favorite food of seabirds. This olfactory cue tricks the birds into confusing marine plastic with food.
Credit: © hstiver / Fotolia

Why do seabirds eat plastic? The answer stinks marine plastic debris is an olfactory trap for seabirds:

If it smells like food, and looks like food, it must be food, right? Not in the case of ocean-faring birds that are sometimes found with bellies full of plastic. But very little research examines why birds make the mistake of eating plastic in the first place.