Slightly OT: Bats and air embolisms.

[reefduffer]

OK, I know this isn't marine physiology, but it's animal physiology and barotrauma, so interesting to divers, and one of those "wow, who woulda thought" things. Could have posted it in diving medicine, could have not posted it, decided it might be of interest to some on SB:

Wind turbines make bat lungs explode - earth - 25 August 2008 - New Scientist Environment

Wind turbines create low pressure vortices with enough delta-P that bats flying into them have their lungs explode. I hate when that happens!

 

[themagni]

That's one of the weirdest news articles I've seen in my life. Good find, and thanks for posting.

 

[ronbeau]

OK, I know this isn't marine physiology, but it's animal physiology and barotrauma, so interesting to divers, and one of those "wow, who woulda thought" things. Could have posted it in diving medicine, could have not posted it, decided it might be of interest to some on SB:

Wind turbines make bat lungs explode - earth - 25 August 2008 - New Scientist Environment

Wind turbines create low pressure vortices with enough delta-P that bats flying into them have their lungs explode. I hate when that happens!

Thanks for posting the interesting article.

Hopefully people will try to find creative ways to have the bats avoid the wind farm as opposed to going with the knee-jerk reaction of closing down the wind farm.

Unfortunately politics gets in the way of wind farms in many locations.

Oddly enough, in Massachusetts, the Cape Wind energy project was opposed by a former Republican governor (Mitt Romney) and supported by his democratic successor (Deval Patrick).

For those who are not familiar with Massachusetts and assume that Massachusetts always elects ultra-liberal democrats you are mistaken.

Frequently, the voters elect a majority Democrats in the state house & state senate but elect a Republican governor (Bill Weld, Mitt Romney etc.). We have had some pretty ineffective governors from both parties (Mike "the tank driver" Dukakis (Democrat) and Paul Celucci (Republican) who unfortunately for the Canadians became a U.S. ambassador to Canada.