Short Science Summary: Harbor Porpoises and Offshore Wind Energy

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Harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are a small and abundant cetacean species. Found throughout the temperate and subarctic waters of the northern hemisphere, they prefer shallow, coastal waters, and feed near the bottom on small fish, squid, and crustaceans. Most concerns about offshore wind energy and Harbor porpoises are associated with construction activities, particularly if pile driving is required to install turbine foundations. This summary represents a general overview of the research, produced by WREN under IEA Wind. The table below contains the literature relevant to harbor porpoises and the offshore wind energy industry and will continue to be updated as new literature is added to Tethys.

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Sources of Information on Harbor Porpoises:

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Enabling Renewable Energy While Protecting Wildlife: An Ecological Risk-Based Approach to Wind Energy Development Using Ecosystem-Based Management Values Copping, A., Gorton, A., May, R., Bennet, F., DeGeorge, E., Goncalves, M., Rumes, B. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Existing Conditions and Potential Environmental Effects HT Harvey and Associates Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, EMF, Entrapment, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Physical Environment, Fish, Marine Mammals, Terrestrial Mammals
Comparison of Environmental Effects from Different Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations Horwath, S., Hassrick, J., Grismala, R., Diller, E. Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles
Review Of Demographic Parameters And Sensitivity Analysis To Inform Inputs And Outputs Of Population Consequences Of Disturbance Assessments For Marine Mammals Sinclair, R., Sparling, C., Harwood, J. Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds
Regional baselines for marine mammal knowledge across the North Sea and Atlantic areas of Scottish waters Hague, E., Sinclair, R., Sparling, C. Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds
Estimating the effects of pile driving sounds on seals: Pitfalls and possibilities Whyte, K., Russell, D., Sparling, C., Binnerts, B., Hastie, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Impact of Offshore Wind Farms on Marine Ecosystems, Pelagic Species and Fishing Negro, V., del Campo, J., Frades, J., Antón, M., Esteban, M., López-Gutiérrez, J-S., Soukissian, T. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Displacement, Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Underwater Visual Records of Marine Megafauna Around Offshore Anthropogenic Structures Todd, V., Lazar, L., Williamson, L., Peters, I., Hoover, A., Cox, S., Todd, I., Macreadie, P., McLean, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Reptiles
Impulsive noise pollution in the Northeast Atlantic: Reported activity during 2015–2017 Merchant, N., Andersson, M., Box, T., Le Courtois, F., Cronin, D., Holdsworth, N., Kinneging, N., Mendes, S., Merck, T., Mouat, J., Norro, A., Ollivier, B., Pinto, C., Stamp, P., Tougaard, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Effects of multiple exposures to pile driving noise on harbor porpoise hearing during simulated flights—An evaluation tool Schaffeld, T., Schnitzler, J., Ruser, A., Woelfing, B., Baltzer, J., Siebert, U. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Avoidance, Noise Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Reducing offshore pile driving noise: Modification of the hammer impulse Klages, E., Von Pein, J., Lippert, S., Von Estor, O. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Measuring responses of harbour seals to potential aversive acoustic mitigation signals using controlled exposure behavioural response studies Gordon, J., Blight, C., Bryant, E., Thompson, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Improving visual biodiversity assessments of motile fauna in turbid aquatic environments Jones, R., Griffin, R., Rees, S., Unsworth, R. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Fish, Demersal Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Placing Green Energy in the Sea: Offshore Wind Farms, Dolphins, Oysters, and the Territorial Politics of the Intertidal Zone in Taiwan Hung, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Effect of Pile-Driving Playback Sound Level on Fish-Catching Efficiency in Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) Kastelein, R., Huijser, L., Cornelisse, S., Helder-Hoek, L., Jennings, N., de Jong, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Pinnipeds, Marine Mammals
Harbour porpoise responses to pile-driving diminish over time Graham, I., Merchant, N., Farcas, A., Barton, T., Cheney, B., Bono, S., Thompson, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
PHAROS4MPAs: A Review of Solutions to Avoid and Mitigate Environmental Impacts of Offshore Windfarms Defingou, M., Bils, F., Horchler, B., Liesenjohann, T., Nehls, G. Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Lighting, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Effects of noise-mitigated offshore pile driving on harbour porpoise abundance in the German Bight 2014-2016 (Gescha 2) Rose, A., Brandt, M., Vilela, R., Diederichs, A., Schubert, A., Kosarev, V., Nehls, G., Volkenandt, M., Wahl, V., Michalik, A., Wendeln, H., Freund, A., Ketzer, C., Limmer, B., Laczny, M., Piper, W. Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Pinnipeds, Marine Mammals
Effect of impact pile driving noise on marine mammals: A comparison of different noise exposure criteria Stober, U., Thomsen, F. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds
Minimizing wildlife impacts for offshore wind energy development: Winning tradeoffs for seabirds in space and cetaceans in time Best, B., Halpin, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Collision, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Performance Characteristics of the NoiseSpotter: An Acoustic Monitoring and Localization System Raghukumar, K., Chang, G., Spada, F., Jones, C. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Fish, Marine Mammals
Impact of pile-driving on Hector's dolphin in Lyttelton Harbour, New Zealand Leunissen, E., Rayment, W., Dawson, S. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Avoidance, Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Feeding home ranges of pacific coast feeding group gray whales Lagerquist, B., Palacios, D., Winsor, M., Irvine, L., Follett, T., Mate, B. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Safeguarding Marine Protected Areas in the Growing Mediterranean Blue Economy: Recommendations for the Offshore Wind Energy Sector WWF France Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Lighting, Noise Birds, Physical Environment, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Construction of the Vineyard Wind Offshore Wind Project National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Marine Mammals
Effects of impulsive noise on marine mammals: investigating range‐dependent risk Hastie, G., Merchant, N., Götz, T., Russell, D., Thompson, P., Janik, V. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Best Management Practices for North Atlantic Right Whales During Offshore Wind Energy Construction and Operations Along the U.S. East Coast NRDC Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Soundscape of an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) hotspot before windfarm construction in the Pearl River Estuary, China: Do dolphin engage in noise avoidance and passive eavesdropping behavior? Wang, Z., Akamatsu, T., Nowacek, D., Yuan, J., Zhou, L., Lei, P., Li, J., Duan, P., Wang, K., Wang, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Avoidance, Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Improving understanding of bottlenose dolphin movements along the east coast of Scotland (Interim Report 2019) Arso Civil, M., Louis, M., Hague, E., Hammond, P. Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Environmental Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms in the Belgian Part of the North Sea: Marking a Decade of Monitoring, Research and Innovation Degraer, S., Brabant, R., Rumes, B., Vigin, L. Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Chemicals, Noise Birds, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Retrospective and Outlook for an Environmentally Sound Development of Offshore Wind Energy Lüdeke, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Birds, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Effects of larger turbines for the offshore wind farm at Krieger's Flak, Sweden. Assessment of impact on marine mammals Tougaard, J., Mikaelsen, M. Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Pinnipeds, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Underwater noise levels of pile-driving in a New Zealand harbour, and the potential impacts on endangered Hector's dolphins Leunissen, E., Dawson, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Humpback Whale Encounter with Offshore Wind Mooring Lines and Inter-Array Cables Copping, A., Grear, M. Report Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Entrapment Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Predicting the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances on marine populations Nabe-Nielsen, J., van Beest, F., Grimm, V., Sibly, R., Teilmann, J., Thompson, P. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Avoidance, Noise Marine Mammals
Effects of Noise on Marine Mammals Erbe, C., Dunlop, R., Dolman, S. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Offshore Wind, Marine Energy Noise Marine Mammals
Resolving environmental effects of wind energy Sinclair, K., Copping, A., May, R., Bennet, F., Warnas, M., Perron, M., Elmqvist, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Marine Mammals
Effect of pile-driving sounds on harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) hearing Kastelein, R., Helder-Hoek, L., Kommeren, A., Covi, J., Gransier, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Disturbance of harbour porpoises during construction of the first seven offshore wind farms in Germany Brandt, M., Dragon, A., Diederichs, A., Bellmann, M., Wahl, V., Piper, W., Nabe-Nielsen, J., Nehls, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Avoidance, Noise Marine Mammals
Marine Noise Budgets in Practice Faulkner, R., Merchant, N., Martinez, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Marine Mammals
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