Habitat Change

Changes to the physical habitat around the device.

The introduction of wind or marine renewable energy devices to the environment can change the physical habitat. The development of land-based wind farms, for example, typically requires the addition of roads and infrastructure, which can lead to habitat degradation and/or fragmentation. Installation of offshore wind and marine renewable energy devices' associated subsea power cables will likely result in changes to seafloor habitats. The physical presence of one or many devices may cause animals to avoid the area, potentially resulting in loss of foraging, breeding, rearing, or resting habitats. Fish may be attracted to a device to feed on algae or to swim in an eddy, while bats may be attracted to a device to feed on insects that are attracted by the light, both of which may place them at higher risk for collision with dynamic portions of the device. Mooring lines that anchor floating devices to the seafloor could also confuse or entrap large marine animals like whales, causing panic and potential injury or increased predation.

For more information relevant to marine energy, view the Changes in Benthic and Pelagic Habitats Short Science Summary produced by OES-Environmental.

For more information relevant to offshore wind energy, view the Introduction of New Structures: Effects on Fish Ecology and Benthic Disturbance from Foundations, Anchors, & Cables research briefs produced by SEER.

Photo Credit: BALAO-SABELLA

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 Habitat Change.

Total: 1507

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Benthic and Epifaunal Monitoring During Wind Turbine Installation and Operation at the Block Island Wind Farm, Rhode Island - Project Report Hutchison, Z., Bartley, M., English, P. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Block Island Wind Farm Beached Bird Survey – Final Summary Report 2019 Tetra Tech Inc. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Raptors, Seabirds, Waterfowl
Adaptive responses to landscape changes from onshore wind energy development in the Republic of Ireland Hallan, C., González, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Habitat Change Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Existing Conditions and Potential Environmental Effects HT Harvey and Associates Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
Stakeholder Workshop: Scientific Research Framework to Understand the Effects of Offshore Wind Energy Development on Birds and Bats in the Eastern United States New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Workshop Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Bats, Birds
Effectiveness of common benthic macrofaunal sampling methodology in boulder and cobble reefs Liversage, K., Pajusalu, J. Journal Article Habitat Change
Summer day-roost selection by eastern red bats varies between areas with different land-use histories Monarchino, M., Behan, M., Johnson, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Habitat Change Bats
Succession in epibenthic communities on artificial reefs associated with marine renewable energy facilities within a tide-swept environment Taormina, B., Percheron, A., Marzloff, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates
Effect of wind farms on wintering ducks at an important wintering ground in China along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway Zhao, S., Xu, H., Song, N. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Habitat Change Birds, Waterfowl
Multi-modal Approach for Benthic Impact Assessments in Moraine Habitats: a Case Study at the Block Island Wind Farm Guarinello, M., Carey, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Physical Environment
Organic matter assimilation by hard substrate fauna in an offshore wind farm area: a pulse-chase study Mavraki, N. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Physical Environment
Dataset for concurrent echosounder and ADCP measurements at a tidal energy candidate site in Australia Scherelis, C., Penesis, I., Hemer, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Avoidance, Habitat Change Fish
Comparison of Environmental Effects from Different Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations Horwath, S., Hassrick, J., Grismala, R. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Reptiles
Modelling the impact of tidal range energy on species communities Baker, A., Craighead, R., Jarvis, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Changes in Flow, Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates
Resource selection of apex raptors: implications for siting energy development in sagebrush and prairie ecosystems Squires, J., Olson, L., Wallace, Z. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Avoidance, Habitat Change Birds, Raptors
Identifying areas of wetland and wind turbine overlap in the south-central Great Plains of North America Heintzman, L., Auerbach, E., Kilborn, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Habitat Change Birds
Greater Sage‐Grouse Response to the Physical Footprint of Energy Development Kirol, C., Smith, K., Graf, N. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Ground-Nesting Birds
The effect of an invasive foundation species on diversity is due to increased habitat availability Scott, Z., ter Horst, C. Journal Article Habitat Change
Wind Turbine Interactions with Wildlife and Their Habitats: A Summary of Research Results and Priority Questions (2020 Update) American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI) Report Wind Energy Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds
Black Harriers and Wind Energy: Guidelines for impact assessment, monitoring and mitigation Simmons, R., Ralston-Paton, S., Colyn, R. Guidance Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Habitat Change Birds
A Benthic Habitat Monitoring Approach for Marine and Hydrokinetic Sites Revelas, G., Sackmann, B., Jones, C. Report Marine Energy Habitat Change Physical Environment
Quantifying the differences in avian attack rates on reptiles between an infrastructure and a control site Law, C., Lancaster, L., Hall, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Habitat Change Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Reptiles
Short Science Summary 2020: Changes in Benthic and Pelagic Habitats OES-Environmental Summary Marine Energy Habitat Change
Activity-footprints, pressures-footprints and effects-footprints-Walking the pathway to determining and managing human impacts in the sea Elliott, M., Borja, A., Cormier, R. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Human Dimensions
Capturing threshold responses of marine benthos along gradients of natural and anthropogenic change Couce, E., Engelhard, G., Schratzberger, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment
Survival strategies and molecular responses of two marine mussels to gradual burial by sediment Hutchison, Z., Green, D., Burrows, M. Journal Article Changes in Flow, Habitat Change Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Invertebrates
Effects of wind energy production on a threatened species, the Bicknell’s Thrush Catharus bicknelli, with and without mitigation Lemaître, J., Lamarre, V. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Passerines
Hywind Scotland Artificial Substrate Colonisation Survey MMT Sweden Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport
South Fork Wind Farm Atlantic Cod Spawning Survey Gervelis, B., Carey, D. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish
Annual environmental report 2019 – Belwind Belwind Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, EMF, Habitat Change Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Navigation
Assessing Potential Impacts of Offshore Wind Facilities on Regional Sea Scallop Laval and Early Juvenile Transports Chen, C., Zhao, L., He, P. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates
On the food-web ecology of offshore wind farms, the kingdom of suspension feeders Mavraki, N. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates
The Colonization of a Multi-functional Artificial Reef Designed for the American Lobster, Homarus Americanus Roy, C. Thesis Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates
Using Artificial-Reef Knowledge to Enhance the Ecological Function of Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations: Implications for Fish Abundance and Diversity Glarou, M., Zrust, M., Svendsen, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Fish
Development of epibenthic assemblages on artificial habitat associated with marine renewable infrastructure Sheehan, E., Cartwright, A., Witt, M. Journal Article Marine Energy Habitat Change Invertebrates
Science in support of ecologically sound decommissioning strategies for offshore man-made structures: taking stock of current knowledge and considering future challenges Birchenough, S., Degraer, S. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
Ecological best practice in decommissioning: a review of scientific research Fortune, I., Paterson, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Comparing methodologies in marine habitat monitoring research: An assessment of species-habitat relationships as revealed by baited and unbaited remote underwater video systems Rhodes, N., Wilms, T., Baktoft, H. Journal Article Attraction, Habitat Change Fish
Risk Retirement for Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Copping, A., Freeman, M., Overhus, D. Report Marine Energy Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport
Characterizing the first wave of fish and invertebrate colonization on a new offshore petroleum platform Todd, V., Williamson, L., Cox, S. Journal Article Attraction, Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates
Displaying 561 - 600 of 1507 results