Offshore marine renewable energy devices as stepping stones across biogeographical boundaries

Adams, Thomas P.; Miller, Raeanne; Aleynik, Dmitry; Burrows, Michael T.

doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12207

Cited by 119 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Interest in designing marine developments that maintain vital ecosystems and critical services is growing (Adams et al . ; Dafforn et al . ), but progress towards green engineering requires understanding the factors influencing the ecological performance of these novel artificial habitats (Chapman & Underwood ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The overlooked role of biotic factors in controlling the ecological performance of artificial marine habitats

Ferrario

Iveša

Jaklin

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary Artificial structures are sprawling in marine seascapes as a result of burgeoning coastal populations, increasing development and energy demand, and greater risks from climate change, storm surges and sea level rise. Interest in designing marine developments that maintain vital ecosystems and critical services is growing, but progress requires understanding the factors that influence the ecological performance of these novel artificial habitats. We combined field observations and experiments along 500 km of the North Adriatic coastline to analyse the performance of artificial substrata as habitats to support canopy‐forming algae belonging to the genus Cystoseira, among the most ecologically relevant foundation species along rocky Mediterranean coastlines. We aimed to: clarify the underlying factors controlling the growth of Cystoseira in the artificial habitat; contrast the relative importance of these factors between artificial and natural habitats; and test the generality of the results across different sites and species of Cystoseira. We found that: (i) the growth of canopy algae was significantly lower on artificial structures compared to rocky reefs; (ii) such lower growth of canopy algae was not related to less favourable abiotic conditions but to higher biotic disturbance from both consumptive and nonconsumptive interactions on the artificial structures compared to the natural reef; and iii) this was consistent across different study sites and canopy‐forming species. We conclude that biological factors influencing the growth of canopy algae, such as herbivory or other nonconsumptive disturbances, can differ substantially between artificial and natural habitats. The unusually large and previously unreported biotic pressure characterizing many artificial structures can negatively affect their performance as habitats to support ecologically relevant, foundation species. Synthesis and applications. While nearly all considerations to improve the ecological performance of hard marine infrastructures focus on abiotic factors (e.g. construction materials, surface texture, habitat complexity or water quality), careful consideration of critical biotic factors is also needed to further progress the green engineering of sprawling marine infrastructures.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The overlooked role of biotic factors in controlling the ecological performance of artificial marine habitats

Ferrario

Iveša

Jaklin

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…In the context of vulnerable or protected species, these implications are clearly negative. However, when considering invasive species, whose introduction and spread may be facilitated by artificial hard substrate (Adams, Miller, Aleynik, & Burrows, ; Airoldi, Turon, Perkol‐Finkel, & Rius, ; Bulleri & Airoldi, ; Mangano, Ape, & Mirto, ; Mineur et al, ), decommissioning can be seen as positive, acting to reduce abundance and connectivity of communities of these species thereby limiting and/or slowing down their dispersal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social network analysis as a tool for marine spatial planning: Impacts of decommissioning on connectivity in the North Sea

Tidbury

Taylor

Molen

et al. 2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Connectivity of marine populations and ecosystems is crucial to maintaining and enhancing their structure, distribution, persistence, resilience and productivity. Artificial hard substrate, such as that associated with oil and gas platforms, provides settlement opportunities for species adapted to hard substrates in areas of soft sediment. The contribution of artificial hard substrate and the consequences of its removal (e.g. through decommissioning) to marine connectivity is not clear, yet such information is vital to inform marine spatial planning and future policy decisions on the use and protection of marine resources. This study demonstrates the application of a social network analysis approach to quantify and describe the ecological connectivity, informed by particle tracking model outputs, of hard substrate marine communities in the North Sea. Through comparison of networks with and without artificial hard substrate, and based on hypothetical decommissioning scenarios, this study provides insight into the contribution of artificial hard substrate, and the consequence of decommissioning, to the structure and function of marine community connectivity. This study highlights that artificial hard substrate, despite providing only a small proportion of the total area of hard substrate, increases the geographic extent and connectivity of the hard substrate network, bridging gaps, thereby providing ‘stepping stones’ between otherwise disconnected areas of natural hard substrate. Compared to the baseline scenario, a decommissioning scenario with full removal of oil and gas platforms results in a nearly 60% reduction in connectivity. Such reduction in connectivity may have negative implications for species’ distribution, gene flow and resilience following disturbance or exploitation of marine hard substrate communities. Synthesis and applications. Social network analysis can provide valuable insight into connectivity between marine communities and enable the evaluation of impacts associated with changes to the marine environment. Providing standardized, transparent and robust outputs, such a tool is useful to facilitate understanding across different disciplines, including marine science, marine spatial planning and marine policy. Social network analysis therefore has great potential to address current knowledge gaps with respect to marine connectivity and crucially facilitate assessment of the impacts of changes in offshore substrate as part of the marine spatial planning process, thereby informing policy and marine management decisions.

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“…The fact that devices can provide habitat for fouling non-native species highlights the potential for devices to aid their spread to new locations through larval dispersal via the stepping stone effect [55] and through the wet movement of devices [12]. For logistical reasons, many marine renewable device technologies are designed so they can be wet-towed between the energy extraction site and the storage/maintenance/fabrication harbours [56].…”

Section: Invasive Species Risk and Biosecuritymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additional research has also been undertaken identifying the transfer pathways of non-native species that occur in the MRE industry [32,55].…”

Section: Invasive Species Risk and Biosecuritymentioning

confidence: 99%

Setting an agenda for biofouling research for the marine renewable energy industry

Loxton

Macleod

Nall

et al. 2017

International Journal of Marine Energy

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Abstract:Extensive marine growth on man-made structures in the ocean is commonplace, yet there has been limited discussion about the potential implications of marine growth for the wave and tidal energy industry. In response, the Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewables (EIMR) Biofouling Expert Workshop was convened. Discussions involved participants from the marine renewable energy (MRE) industry, anti-fouling industry, academic institutions and regulatory bodies. The workshop aimed to consider both the benefits and negative effects of biofouling from engineering and ecological perspectives. In order to form an agenda for future research in the area of biofouling and the marine renewable energy industry, 119 topics were generated, categorised and prioritised. Identified areas for future focus fell within four overarching categories: operation and maintenance; structured design and engineering; ecology; and knowledge exchange. It is clear that understanding and minimising biofouling impacts on MRE infrastructure will be vital to the successful development of a reliable and cost effective MRE industry.

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Offshore marine renewable energy devices as stepping stones across biogeographical boundaries

Cited by 119 publications

References 47 publications

The overlooked role of biotic factors in controlling the ecological performance of artificial marine habitats

The overlooked role of biotic factors in controlling the ecological performance of artificial marine habitats

Social network analysis as a tool for marine spatial planning: Impacts of decommissioning on connectivity in the North Sea

Setting an agenda for biofouling research for the marine renewable energy industry

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