Luther College is studying the impact of its wind turbine on local bats

Wind turbines like the one operated by Luther College are a sustainable energy resource and help keep the air clean by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  But what effects do the wind turbines have on wildlife and how can any threats be minimized?

The Luther College Biology Department has been studying that question this summer.  Luther visiting assistant professor in biology Dawn Reding and students Mariah Crotty and Andrea Malek have been using several methods to survey bat populations and estimate bat mortality caused by the sweeping rotor blades.
 
Three acoustic monitoring sites have been set up around Decorah to learn more about species presence and abundance. Eight species have been detected in the area, and each detector has recorded from 50 to 600 bat calls per night this summer.

Crotty and Malek have also been conducting daily searches around the turbine to look for bat carcasses. A few carcasses have been found beneath the wind turbine, but the three researchers say additional monitoring and analysis will be necessary to better estimate the turbine's wildlife impact.

Bats are a very important part of the environment, and eat insects, with some species eating 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour.