Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India.
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA.
Nat Ecol Evol. 2018 Dec;2(12):1854-1858. doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0707-z. Epub 2018 Nov 5.
Wind farms are a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels for mitigating the effects of climate change, but they also have complex ecological consequences. In the biodiversity hotspot of the Western Ghats in India, we find that wind farms reduce the abundance and activity of predatory birds (for example, Buteo, Butastur and Elanus species), which consequently increases the density of lizards, Sarada superba. The cascading effects of wind turbines on lizards include changes in behaviour, physiology and morphology that reflect a combination of predator release and density-dependent competition. By adding an effective trophic level to the top of food webs, we find that wind farms have emerging impacts that are greatly underestimated. There is thus a strong need for an ecosystem-wide view when aligning green-energy goals with environment protection.
风力发电场是减缓气候变化影响的一种较清洁的化石燃料替代品，但也会产生复杂的生态后果。在印度的西高止山脉生物多样性热点地区，我们发现风力发电场减少了猛禽（例如，褐鹰雕、松雀鹰和普通鵟）的数量和活动，从而增加了蜥蜴 Sarada superba 的密度。风力涡轮机对蜥蜴的级联效应包括行为、生理和形态的变化，反映了捕食者释放和密度依赖竞争的结合。通过在食物网的顶端增加一个有效的营养级，我们发现风力发电场的新兴影响被大大低估了。因此，在将绿色能源目标与环境保护保持一致时，需要从生态系统的角度来看待问题。
