Ecosystem Processes

The physical, chemical, and biological processes that link organisms and their environment.

Ecosystem processes are the physical, chemical, and biological processes that link organisms and their environment. These may include biogeochemical/nutrient cycling, energy flow, and food web dynamics. An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system. It can be broken down further into categories such as an aquatic ecosystem which involves a body of water, or even further to marine ecosystem or freshwater ecosystem.

Organisms feed off one another in a balanced food chain, but small changes to the seascape may significantly impact the existing balance. By just impacting one population, the effects may propagate to all other species in the area, potentially leading to overpopulation, decimation, habitat changes, changes in the nutrient cycle, energy flow, resource availability, etc. As offshore wind and marine renewable energy devices enter the water, any stressor could alter the flow of energy or physical environment enough to upset the balance of the ecosystem. However, the particular concerns are changes in flow and impacts on water quality.

Photo Credit: NOAA

Marine and Wind Energy Environmental Documents

Tethys is a knowledge hub that contains documents on the environmental effects of wind and marine energy. The table below contains all of the documents in the Tethys Knowledge Base associated with Ecosystem Processes.

Total: 489

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Landsat Time Series Assessment of Invasive Annual Grasses Following Energy Development Villarreal, M., Soulard, C., Waller, E. Journal Article Wind Energy Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes
ScotMER and MREF MASTS Workshop Report Scottish Government, Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland (MASTS) Workshop Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Displacement, Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Offshore oil production platforms as potential sources of larvae to coastal shelf regions off southern California Nishimoto, M., Simons, R., Love, M. Journal Article Invertebrates, Fish, Ecosystem Processes
Development and application of a low-cost rapid assessment system for coastal benthic habitats Benjamin, C., Cadeliña, P., Yñiguez, A. Journal Article Ecosystem Processes, Invertebrates
Ocean Science Magazine Brown, W., Cluck, R., Cruickshank, W. Magazine Article Noise Physical Environment, Ecosystem Processes
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Wake Interactions of Marine Hydrokinetic Turbines Gotelli, C., Musa, M., Guala, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Riverine Changes in Flow Ecosystem Processes
The Dynamic Ocean: Offshore Wind Energy and Other Activities in the New York Bight New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Ecosystem Processes, Human Dimensions, Navigation
On the Marine Energy Resources of Mexico Hernández-Fontes, J., Felix, A., Mendoza, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Ocean Current, OTEC, Salinity Gradient, Wave Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
Vitamine ENA: A framework for the development of ecosystem-based indicators for decision makers Safi, G., Giebels, D., Arroyo, N. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Positive ecological effects of wind farms on vegetation in China’s Gobi desert Xu, K., He, L., Hu, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Ecosystem Processes
Effects of established offshore wind farms on energy flow of coastal ecosystems: A case study of the Rudong offshore wind farms in China Wang, J., Zou, X., Yu, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes
Noise Impact Assessment Hywind Tampen Weissenberger, J. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Ecosystem Processes, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Towards an Ecosystem Approach to Assess the Impacts of Marine Renewable Energy Pezy, J., Raoux, A., Niquil, N. Book Chapter Fixed Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes
Comments on the Call for Information and Nominations for Commercial Leasing for Wind Power Development on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore California Aylesworth, S., Krop, L., George, G. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
World Seas: An Environmental Evaluation Volume III: Ecological Issues and Environmental Impacts Sheppard, C. Book Noise Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Legal & Policy
Status and Trends for the World’s Kelp Forests Wernberg, T., Krumhansl, K., Filbee-Dexter, K. Book Chapter Ecosystem Processes
Measuring sensitivity of two OSPAR indicators for a coastal food web model under offshore wind farm construction Raoux, A., Lassalle, G., Pezy, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes
From ocean sprawl to blue-green infrastructure – A UK perspective on an issue of global significance Evans, A., Firth, L., Hawkins, S. Journal Article Marine Energy Habitat Change Marine Spatial Planning, Legal & Policy, Human Dimensions, Ecosystem Processes
Salt Marshes: Their Role in Our Society and Threats Posed to Their Existence Giuliani, S., Bellucci, L. Book Chapter Ecosystem Processes
Framework for Assessing Ecological and Cumulative Effects 3.0 for the roll-out of offshore wind energy 2030 Sub-report A: Methods Rijkswaterstaat Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Wind farms have cascading impacts on ecosystems across trophic levels Thaker, M., Zambre, A., Bhosale, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Raptors, Ecosystem Processes, Birds
Strategic Environmental Assessment of Wave energy technologies (SEAWave) European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), Fox, J. Research Study Marine Energy, Wave Changes in Flow, Habitat Change, Noise Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Linking ecosystem services with epibenthic biodiversity change following installation of offshore wind farms Causon, P., Gill, A. Journal Article Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Physical Processes ScotMER Receptor Group Scottish Government Webpage Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
Connectivity of larval stages of sedentary marine communities between hard substrates and offshore structures in the North Sea van der Molen, J., García-García, L., Whomersley, P. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes
Benthic production and energy export from man-made structures to softbottoms: does it matter? Dannheim, J., Birchenough, S., Beermann, J. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes
Atlantic Deepwater Ecosystem Observatory Network (ADEON): An Integrated System for Long-Term Monitoring of Ecological and Human Factors on the Outer Continental Shelf Miksis-Olds, J., Martin, B., Warren, J. Report Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Displacement, Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
An ecosystem approach for studying the impact of offshore wind farms: a French case study Pezy, J., Raoux, A., Dauvin, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes
Appendix M-1 Biological Assessment for Project Icebreaker EDR, D.P.C. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes
Evaluating anthropogenic landscape alterations as wildlife hazards, with wind farms as an example Law, P., Fuller, M. Journal Article Wind Energy Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes
Impactos ambientales de la energía eólica Hernández Galvez, G, Pampillón González, L, Hernández Almenares, L Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Hub Greaves, D. Research Study Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Tidal, Wave Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Noise Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Wave and Tidal Energy: Environmental Effects Iglesias, G., Tercero, J., Simas, T. Book Chapter Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport
Zooplankton Community Responses and the Relation to Environmental Factors from Established Offshore Wind Farms within the Rudong Coastal Area of China Wang, T., Yu, W., Zou, X. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Water Quality, Physical Environment, Ecosystem Processes
Contributions of marine infrastructures to marine planning and protected area networking Shabtay, A., Portman, M., Carmel, Y. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Marine Energy Habitat Change Marine Spatial Planning, Human Dimensions, Ecosystem Processes
Hywind Tampen vindpark. Vurdering av konsekvenser for sjøfugl. Moe, B., Christensen-Dalsgaard, S., Follestad, A. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision Birds, Seabirds, Ecosystem Processes, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
The large-scale impact of offshore wind farm structures on pelagic primary productivity in the southern North Sea Slavik, K., Lemmen, C., Zhang, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Invertebrates
Hywind Tampen vindpark Konsekvenser for fiskeriene Aaserød, M., Bjørgesæter, A. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Ecosystem Processes, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries
Using Coupled Hydrodynamic Biogeochemical Models to Predict the Effects of Tidal Turbine Arrays on Phytoplankton Dynamics Schuchert, P., Kregting, L., Pritchard, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Changes in Flow Ecosystem Processes
A portfolio model for siting offshore wind farms with economic and environmental objectives Cranmer, A., Baker, E., Liesiö, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Human Dimensions, Ecosystem Processes
Displaying 201 - 240 of 489 results