As the marine renewable energy (MRE) industry expands and more devices are deployed in the water, animals may be displaced from their preferred or critical habitats due to the physical presence of the devices or other aspects of the projects. Displacement is triggered by an animal’s response to one or more stressors acting as a disturbance, with various consequences ranging from individual- to population-level effects. Migratory animals might be moved off their normal pathways while benthic organisms may be kept from their preferred habitats. Animals could respond to stressors from MRE arrays in a variety of ways: attraction (going toward), avoidance (going around), and exclusion (going away from). Marine animals may be vulnerable to displacement from MRE arrays at different life stages and during different project phases (i.e., construction, operation, or decommissioning). Displacement responses may be very species-specific and depend on maneuverability and migration patterns of each species. These effects could be severe enough to result in impacts on populations.
Short Science Summary 2024: Displacement
This short science summary for Displacement was developed based on the OES-Environmental 2024 State of the Science Report: Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Development Around the World, specifically Chapter 3: Marine Renewable Energy: Stressor-Receptor Interactions.
The table below contains the literature relevant to this summary document and will continue to be updated as new literature is added to Tethys.
| Title | Author | Date Sort ascending | Content Type | Technology | Stressor | Receptor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressing Tidal Energy Through Organized Data Approaches | Copping, A., Hemery, L., Garavelli, L., Freeman, M. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Tidal | Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles, Sea Turtles | |
| Environmental Effects Monitoring Program Annual Report 2025 | Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) | Report | Marine Energy, Tidal | Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Noise | Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals | |
| Environmental effects of marine renewable energy off-grid and micro-grid applications: a use case approach to assess existing knowledge and remaining uncertainties | Hemery, L., Weicht, L., Copping, A., Garavelli, L. | Conference Paper | Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave | Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Navigation, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts | |
| Minimizing environmental risks to progress the marine renewable energy industry | Garavelli, L., Rose, D., Freeman, M., Hemery, L., Farr, H., Copping, A. | Conference Paper | Marine Energy | Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | ||
| Environmental Risks and Impacts of Offshore Energy: A Literature Review | Pontinha, D., Bispo, L., Gervásio, H., Aktuglu, Y. | Conference Paper | Marine Energy, OTEC, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind | Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning | |
| Scottish seabird conservation action plan: vulnerability report | Scottish Government | Report | Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Collision, Displacement | Birds, Seabirds | |
| Sea Space Analysis for Wave and Tidal Energy | Lee, S., Strong, V., Anning, D., Buecker, N., Flanary, C., Chang, G., Escajeda, E. , Kramer, S., Mullany, D. | Report | Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave | Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Water Quality, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Navigation, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement, Visual Impacts | |
| Sustainability Assessment of an Oscillating Water Column During the Design, Installation, Operation, and Disassembly Phases | Gallego-Ramírez, C., López-Mosquera, J., Chica, E., Rubio-Clemente, A. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Wave | Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike | Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Navigation, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts | |
| Marine Fish Passage: Underappreciated Threats to Connectivity Within the Marine Environment | Lennox, R., Birnie-Gauvin, K., Bate, C., Cooke, S. , Haraldstad, T., Berhe, S., Penney, H., Bangley, C., Vollset, K., Piczak, M. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind | Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise | Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning | |
| A Fuzzy Logic Technique for the Environmental Impact Assessment of Marine Renewable Energy Power Plants | Flores, P., Mendoza, E. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Ocean Current, OTEC, Tidal, Wave | Attraction, Avoidance, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Visual Impacts | |
| MASTS ASM 2024 Workshop Proceeding: Tracking Top Predators in Marine Renewable Energy Development Areas | Sutherland, J. | Workshop Article | Marine Energy, Wind Energy | Attraction, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change | Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds | |
| OES-Environmental 2024 State of the Science Report: Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Development Around the World | OES-Environmental | Report | Marine Energy, OTEC, Tidal, Wave | Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Terrestrial Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Recreation & Tourism, Stakeholder Engagement | |
| 2024 State of the Science Report - Chapter 3: Marine Renewable Energy: Stressor-Receptor Interactions | Garavelli, L., Hemery, L., Rose, D., Farr, H., Whiting, J., Copping, A. | Report | Marine Energy, OTEC, Tidal, Wave | Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles | |
| Recent Advances in Assessing Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Around the World | Copping, A., Martinez, L., Hemery, L., Hutchison, I., Jones, K., Kaplan, M. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Ocean Current, OTEC, Riverine, Salinity Gradient, Tidal, Wave | Attraction, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment | |
| Animal displacement from marine energy development: Mechanisms and consequences | Hemery, L., Garavelli, L., Copping, A., Farr, H., Jones, K., Baker-Horne, N., Kregting, L., McGarry, L., Sparling, C., Verling, E. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave | Attraction, Avoidance, Displacement | ||
| Wave Energy Economic and Environmental Aspects Strengths (S), Weakness (W), Opportunity (O), and Threats (T) | AlMallahi, M., Delvana, H., Haj Assad, M., Kumar, L., Elgendi, M. | Conference Paper | Marine Energy, Wave | Changes in Flow, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise | Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Social & Economic Data | |
| Improving Understanding of Environmental Effects from Single MRE Devices to Arrays | Hasselman, D., Hemery, L., Copping, A., Fulton, E., Fox, J., Gill, A., Polagye, B. | Conference Paper | Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave | Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | ||
| Feasibility of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Development for U.S. Islands | Copping, A., Farr, H. | Conference Paper | Marine Energy, OTEC | Chemicals, Displacement, Entanglement, Habitat Change | Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions | |
| Investigating displacement of marine animals as a potential effect of marine renewable energy development | Hemery, L., Garavelli, L., Copping, A., Farr, H., Jones, K. | Conference Paper | Marine Energy | Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise | Fish, Marine Mammals | |
| Environmental Effects Monitoring Program Annual Report 2023 | Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) | Report | Marine Energy, Tidal | Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals | |
| ‘Scaling up’ our understanding of environmental effects of marine renewable energy development from single devices to large-scale commercial arrays | Hasselman, D., Hemery, L., Copping, A., Fulton, E., Fox, J., Gill, A., Polagye, B. | Journal Article | Marine Energy | Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | ||
| Report on the ICES Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology (WGMME) 2023 | Ahola, M., Alves, F., Authier, M., Banga, R., Brasseur, S., Bundone, L., Carpentieri, P., Clear, N., Evans, P., Fariñas-Bermejo, A., Fernández, D., Fernández, R., Fortuna, C., Galatius, A., Geelhoed, S., Gilles, A., Granquist, S., Muñoz, P., Haelters, J., Hammond, P., Hernández, G., Hernández-González, A., van den Hurk, Y., Jauniaux, T., Jussi, M., Lundström, K., Mo, G., Moors-Murphy, H., Neimanis, A., Nilssen, K., Núñez, N., Panou, A., Persson, S., Petitguyot, M., Pierce, G., Popov, D., Puig-Lozano, R., Ramsijn, J., Rasmussen, M., Renell, J., Smout, S., Bonales, J., Vilas, N., Vincent, C. | Report | Marine Energy, Tidal, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Avoidance, Displacement, Noise | Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds | |
| The bigger picture: developing a low-cost graphical user interface to process drone imagery of tidal stream environments | Slingsby, J., Scott, B., Kregting, L., McIlvenny, J., Wilson, J., Yanez, M., Williamson, B. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Tidal | Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement | Birds, Seabirds | |
| Seabird use of tidal stream environments and potential interactions with tidal energy devices | Isaksson, N. | Thesis | Marine Energy, Tidal | Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change | Birds, Seabirds | |
| Environmental Effects Monitoring Program Annual Report 2022 | Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) | Report | Marine Energy, Tidal | Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals | |
| Echofilter: A Deep Learning Segmentation Model Improves the Automation, Standardization, and Timeliness for Post-Processing Echosounder Data in Tidal Energy Streams | Lowe, S., McGarry, L., Douglas, J., Newport, J., Oore, S., Whidden, C., Hasselman, D. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Tidal | Collision, Displacement | Fish, Marine Mammals | |
| Wave energy: history, implementations, environmental impacts, and economics | Li, H., Sun, X., Zhou, H. | Conference Paper | Marine Energy, Wave | Chemicals, Collision, Displacement | Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data | |
| Detection of Habitat Shifts of Cetacean Species: A Comparison Between 2010 and 2017 Habitat Suitability Conditions in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean | Chavez-Rosales, S., Josephson, E., Palka, D., Garrison, L. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Wind Energy | Displacement, Habitat Change | Marine Mammals, Cetaceans | |
| Good Practice Guidance for assessing fisheries displacement by other licensed marine activities: Literature Review | Xodus Group | Report | Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind | Displacement | Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy | |
| Review of fish and fisheries research to inform ScotMER evidence gaps and future strategic research in the UK | Xoubanova, S., Lawrence, Z. | Report | Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind | Attraction, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Noise | Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Stakeholder Engagement | |
| Behavioural responses by seals to offshore energy activities | Whyte, K. | Thesis | Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Attraction, Avoidance, Displacement | Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds | |
| Potential climate-driven changes to seabird demography: implications for assessments of marine renewable energy development | Searle, K., Butler, A., Waggitt, J., Evans, P., Quinn, L., Bogdanova, M., Evans, T., Braithwaite, J., Daunt, F. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Displacement | Birds, Seabirds, Human Dimensions | |
| A Review of Modeling Approaches for Understanding and Monitoring the Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy | Buenau, K., Garavelli, L., Hemery, L., Garcia Medina, G. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Tidal, Wave | Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise | ||
| Environmental Effects Monitoring Program Annual Report 2021 | Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) | Report | Marine Energy, Tidal | Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates | |
| Environmental Information for Siting and Operation of Floating Tidal Turbines in U.S. Waters | Copping, A., Garavelli, L., Overhus, D., Tugade, L. | Report | Marine Energy, Tidal | Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals | |
| Environmental Impact Assessment: Nuyakuk River Small Scale Hydroelectric Project | Squire, R., Owen, A., Ngo-Ly, J., Sanderson, T. | Report | Marine Energy, Riverine | Changes in Flow, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise | Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Recreation & Tourism, Visual Impacts | |
| Are fish in danger? A review of environmental effects of marine renewable energy on fishes | Copping, A., Hemery, L., Viehman, H., Seitz, A., Staines, G., Hasselman, D. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal, Wave | Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise | Fish | |
| Understanding seabird and marine mammal occupancy of tidal stream environments at annual and seasonal scales | Brown, K. | Thesis | Marine Energy, Tidal | Displacement | Birds, Marine Mammals | |
| Marine Evidence packages | ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd (ABPmer) | Webpage | Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave | Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Lighting, Noise | Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment | |
| Environmental Effects Monitoring Program Annual Report 2020 | Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) | Report | Marine Energy, Tidal | Attraction, Avoidance, Displacement, Habitat Change | Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals |