So one of the major bats being affected by wind energy in the south are Hoary bats. While they aren't currently endangered, they are very elusive and could become endangered if current mortality rates continue.

"The hoary bat population could decline by as much as 90% in the next 50 years if the initial population size is near 2.5 million bats and annual population growth rate is similar to rates estimated for other bat species (λ = 1.01)" Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00063...

In Hawaii, there is a subspecies of the Hoary bat that is endangered and primarily threatened by wind turbines. There are also studies happening out there on wind turbines (I applied to work for the study like a year ago, I don't think BCI will be publishing anything any time soon). https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/wildlife/files/2018/07/Bat-White-Pap... https://www.nrgsystems.com/news-media/nrg-systems-announces-...

RE this study - I believe this is part of the work being done by Dr. Sara Weaver at Texas State. I don't know that she's published much on it yet, it's been very hush-hush because of the huge implications it could have if successful. The NRG tech being used is mentioned in the Texas State article below. https://psmag.com/environment/jamming-echolocation-could-hel... https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sara_Weaver4 https://news.txstate.edu/research-and-innovation/2018/bat-de...

That being said, wind energy is like... maybe #2 or #3 threat to bats right now. The biggest one being a disease called white-nose syndrome that is absolutely devastating hibernating bats.

USFS website on WNS: https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/

A third major danger to bats is human persecution. People either are scared of bats, or hunt them for food. In places like Australia, bats are sometimes seen as a nuisance where the congregate in large numbers and poop. Bat Conservation International has a lot of articles and social media messages talking about how bats are threatened http://www.batcon.org/why-bats/bats-are/bats-are-threatened

That is kind of ironic - even knowing that durability isn't monolithic and based off of different things. Birds known for coal mine canaries have the more durable lungs.

Indeed! Birds in general have infamously sensitive lungs, apparently because their respiratory system is a one-way loop instead of an in-and-out piston. They can exhale one breath at the same time that another is passing through the lungs. It's amazingly efficient, serving the high oxygen and cooling needs of active flight, but it's far more susceptible to airborne pollutants of all kinds.

But, apparently, sensitivity to pollutants is unrelated to sensitivity to pressure.

Biology is fascinating.