Dear all
We have a paper in
Journal of Applied Ecology. It is Open Access and can be downloaded from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12678/full?platform=hootsuite"Avoidance of wind farms by harbour seals is limited to pile driving activities"
Debbie J.F. Russell, Gordon D. Hastie, David Thompson, Vincent M. Janik,
Philip S. Hammond, Lindesay A.S. Scott-Hayward, Jason Matthiopoulos,
Esther L. Jones and Bernie J. McConnell
Summary
- As
part of global efforts to reduce dependence on carbon-based energy
sources there has been a rapid increase in the installation of renewable
energy devices. The installation and operation of these devices can
result in conflicts with wildlife. In the marine environment, mammals
may avoid wind farms that are under construction or operating. Such
avoidance may lead to more time spent travelling or displacement from
key habitats. A paucity of data on at-sea movements of marine mammals
around wind farms limits our understanding of the nature of their
potential impacts.
- Here, we present the results of a telemetry study on harbour seals Phoca vitulina
in The Wash, south-east England, an area where wind farms are being
constructed using impact pile driving. We investigated whether seals
avoid wind farms during operation, construction in its entirety, or
during piling activity. The study was carried out using historical
telemetry data collected prior to any wind farm development and
telemetry data collected in 2012 during the construction of one wind
farm and the operation of another.
- Within an operational wind
farm, there was a close-to-significant increase in seal usage compared
to prior to wind farm development. However, the wind farm was at the
edge of a large area of increased usage, so the presence of the wind
farm was unlikely to be the cause.
- There was no significant
displacement during construction as a whole. However, during piling,
seal usage (abundance) was significantly reduced up to 25 km from the
piling activity; within 25 km of the centre of the wind farm, there was a
19 to 83% (95% confidence intervals) decrease in usage compared to
during breaks in piling, equating to a mean estimated displacement of
440 individuals. This amounts to significant displacement starting from
predicted received levels of between 166 and 178 dB re 1 μPa(p-p).
Displacement was limited to piling activity; within 2 h of cessation of
pile driving, seals were distributed as per the non-piling scenario.
- Synthesis and applications.
Our spatial and temporal quantification of avoidance of wind farms by
harbour seals is critical to reduce uncertainty and increase robustness
in environmental impact assessments of future developments.
Specifically, the results will allow policymakers to produce industry
guidance on the likelihood of displacement of seals in response to pile
driving; the relationship between sound levels and avoidance rates; and
the duration of any avoidance, thus allowing far more accurate
environmental assessments to be carried out during the consenting
process. Further, our results can be used to inform mitigation
strategies in terms of both the sound levels likely to cause
displacement and what temporal patterns of piling would minimize the
magnitude of the energetic impacts of displacement.
Please contact me for any more information.
Best wishes
Debbie