Offshore wind farm artificial reefs affect ecosystem structure and functioning : a synthesis
Date
12/2020Author
Metadata
Show full item recordAltmetrics Handle Statistics
Altmetrics DOI Statistics
Abstract
Offshore wind farms (OWFs) are proliferating globally. The submerged parts of their structures act as artificial reefs, providing new habitats and likely affecting fisheries resources. While acknowledging that the footprints of these structures may result in loss of habitat, usually soft sediment, we focus on how the artificial reefs established by OWFs affect ecosystem structure and functioning. Structurally, the ecological response begins with high diversity and biomass in the flora and fauna that gradually colonize the complex hard substrate habitat. The species may include nonindigenous ones that are extending their spatial distributions and/or strengthening populations, locally rare species (e.g., hard substrate-associated fish), and habitat-forming species that further increase habitat complexity. Functionally, the response begins with dominant suspension feeders that filter organic matter from the water column. Their fecal deposits alter the surrounding seafloor communities by locally increasing food availability, and higher trophic levels (fish, birds, marine mammals) also profit from locally increased food availability and/or shelter. The structural and functional effects extend in space and time, impacting species differently throughout their life cycles. Effects must be assessed at those larger spatiotemporal scales.
Citation
Degraer , S , Carey , D , Coolen , J , Hutchison , Z , Kerckhof , F , Rumes , B & Vanaverbeke , J 2020 , ' Offshore wind farm artificial reefs affect ecosystem structure and functioning : a synthesis ' , Oceanography , vol. 33 , no. 4 , pp. 48-57 . https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2020.405
Publication
Oceanography
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1042-8275Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2020 the Author(s). This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.
Description
This paper contributes to the FaCE-It and PERSUADE projects financed by the Belgian Science Policy Office, and the Belgian WinMon.BE offshore wind farm environmental monitoring program. Joop Coolen was funded by NWO Domain Applied and Engineering Sciences under grant 14494.Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.