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Studying carcasses, a lab works to make renewables safer for wildlife
Wind and solar energy projects can be deadly for birds and bats, but the ones that die can play a role in making these facilities safer for other wildlife. At a U.S. Geological Survey lab in Boise, Idaho, specimens taken from renewable energy facilities are studied to help researchers understand what killed them and how it might be prevented.
“Every time we get an animal carcass, it has value to research,” Todd Katzner, a U.S. Geological Survey wildlife biologist who oversees the lab, told Undark. “If I think about it from a scientific perspective, if you leave that carcass out there in the field, you’re wasting data.”
Header Image: A bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus soars in front of a wind turbine as part of research to develop ways to make wind farms safer for birds. Credit: Dennis Schroeder/NREL
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