00:00Bats might not have the best reputation, but they're actually great for the environment, and for us.
00:08Bats eat nighttime insects like mosquitoes and prevent their populations from getting out of control.
00:13However, despite our need to move away from fossil fuels and focus more on renewables like solar energy,
00:18it turns out solar farms might be affecting their communities.
00:22Professor of Biological Sciences at Bristol University, Gareth Jones, writes for the conversation,
00:26bat populations are dwindling around solar farms.
00:30Six of the eight species identified in the study area were less active around the farms,
00:34with one particular species showing a 40% drop in activity in the areas immediately surrounding them,
00:39but a massive 80% drop in activity over the solar farm itself.
00:43Experts aren't exactly sure why solar farms might be reducing bat activity,
00:47but the leading theories are that they either reduce insect numbers,
00:50or the solar panels themselves might affect the bat's echolocation and sonar capabilities,
00:55as flat surfaces are known to reflect the sound away from the bats, making the area seem empty.
01:00Still, Professor Jones adds it's not just solar farms.
01:03A study from 2012 estimated that likely around 888,000 bats had been killed to date by wind farms as well.
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