Short Science Summary: Offshore Wind Farms as Stepping Stones for Non-indigenous Species

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One of the most important effects of offshore wind farms is the unintentional provision of a new habitat which invariably is rapidly colonized by hard substrate species. Turbine foundations provide hard vertical substrates and, depending on the structure and scour protection used, varying degrees of habitat complexity. These novel surfaces span the full water column from the splash zone to the seafloor, often in areas where comparable natural hard surfaces are absent. Non-indigenous species (NIS) are species that did not occur in a particular geographic region, such as the North Sea, prior to a certain date (e.g., the beginning of the 17th century). They consist of species introduced by human activities outside their natural past or present range (introduced species), and species that spread by their own means (range expanding species) due to rising temperatures or other factors. As ocean sprawl in shallow and coastal waters has favored NIS, there is concern that increasing development of offshore wind farms will accelerate this phenomenon. This summary represents a general overview of the research, produced by WREN under IEA Wind. 

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 Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Powering Healthy Seas: Accelerating Nature Positive Offshore Wind Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Lighting, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Reviewing the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms Galparsoro, I., Menchaca, I., Garmendia, J., Borja, A., Maldonado, A., Iglesias, G., Bald, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates
Generalized changes of benthic communities after construction of wind farms in the southern North Sea Coolen, J., Vanaverbeke, J., Dannheim, J., Garcia, C., Birchenough, S., Krone, R., Beermann, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Demersal Fish, Invertebrates
Wind energy in the city: Hong Kong’s offshore wind energy generation potential, deployment plans, and ecological pitfalls Delina, L. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Chemicals, Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Human Dimensions, Climate Change
Environmental Compatibility of the Parc Tramuntana Offshore Wind Project in Relation to Marine Ecosystems Diez-Caballero, K., Troiteiro, S., Garcia-Alba, J., Vidal, R., Gonzalez, M., Ametller, S., Juan, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality
Unravelling the ecological impacts of large-scale offshore wind farms in the Mediterranean Sea Lloret, J., Turiel, A., Solé, J., Berdalet, E., Sabatés, A., Olivares, A., Gili, J., Vila-Subirós, J., Hardy, P-Y., Sardá, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Changes in Flow, Habitat Change Physical Environment, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning, Recreation & Tourism
Environmental Data Catalog for the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area Johnson, C., Currier, C., Howar, J., Elliott, M., Rockwood, C., Jahncke, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles, Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Climate change effects on the ecophysiology and ecological functioning of an offshore wind farm artificial hard substrate community Voet, H., van Colen, C., Vanaverbeke, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Habitat Change Physical Environment, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Climate Change
A risk-based method to prioritize cumulative impacts assessment on marine biodiversity and research policy for offshore wind farms in France Brignon, J., Lejart, M., Nexer, M., Michel, S., Quentric, A., Theibaud, L. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Application of Monte Carlo and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Processes for ranking floating wind farm locations Díaz, H., Teixeira, A., Soares, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Habitat Change Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Recreation & Tourism
Effects of pile driving sound on local movement of free-ranging Atlantic cod in the Belgian North Sea Auteurs van der Knaap, I., Slabbekoorn, H., Moens, T., Van den Eynde, D., Reubens, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Fish
Weakly Supervised Detection of Marine Animals in High Resolution Aerial Images Berg, P., Maia, D., Pham, M., Lefèvre, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Marine Mammals
What’s in My Toolkit? A Review of Technologies for Assessing Changes in Habitats Caused by Marine Energy Development Hemery, L., Mackereth, K., Tugade, L. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change
Environmental Data Catalog for the Humboldt Wind Energy Area Johnson, C., Currier, C., Howar, J., Elliott, M., Rockwood, C., Jahncke, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Stakeholder Engagement
Environmental Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms in the Belgian Part of the North Sea: Attraction, avoidance and habitat use at various spatial scales Degraer, S., Brabant, R., Rumes, B., Vigin, L. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
An indicator for assessing the status of marine-bird habitats affected by multiple human activities: A novel statistical approach Mercker, M., Dierschke, V., Camphuysen, K., Kreutle, A., Markones, N., Vanermen, N., Garthe, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Birds, Fish, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Marine Spatial Planning
Automatic Segregation of Pelagic Habitats Plonus, R-M., Vogl, S., Floeter, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
Comparison of Environmental Effects from Different Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations (2021 Revision) Horwath, S., Hassrick, J., Grismala, R., Diller, E., Krebs, J., Manhard, R. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles
Bird Workgroup Report for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts Cook, A., Williams, K., Jenkins, E., Gulka, J., Liner, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds
Marine Mammals Workgroup Report for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts Southall, B., Morse, L., Williams, K., Jenkins, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Marine Mammals
Sea Turtle Workgroup Report for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts Gitschlag, G., Perry, R., Williams, K., Jenkins, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Reptiles
Benthos Workgroup Report for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts Degraer, S., Hutchison, Z., LoBue, C., Williams, K., Gulka, J., Jenkins, E. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Physical Environment
Conservation Organizations Comments on June 21, 2021 OSW Workshop Cullum, L., Hislop, K., Aylesworth, S., Eriksen, R., Flick, P., George, G. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change Birds, Marine Mammals
Environmental impacts of offshore wind installation, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning activities: A case study of Brazil Hernández Carrascal, O., Shadman, M., Amiri, M., Silva, C., Estefen, S., La Rovere, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Physical Environment, Fish, Marine Mammals
Offshore wind turbine operations and maintenance: A state-of-the-art review Ren, Z., Verma, A., Li, Y., Teuwen, J., Jiang, Z. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Marine Spatial Planning
Working Group on Marine Benthal and Renewable Energy Developments (WGMBRED) ICES Working Group on Marine Renewable Energy (WGMRE) Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Offshore Windfarm Footprint of Sediment Organic Matter Mineralization Processes De Borger, E., Ivanov, E., Capet, A., Braeckman, U., Vanaverbeke, J., Grégoire, M., Soetaert, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment, Invertebrates
Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Seafood Sectors: A Macroeconomic Perspective of the Energy-Food Nexus Qu, Y. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Social & Economic Data
Hydrodynamic Modeling, Particle Tracking and Agent-Based Modeling of Larvae in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Bight Johnson, T., van Berkel, J., Mortensen, L., Bell, M., Tiong, I., Hernandez, B., Snyder, D., Thomsen, F., Petersen, O. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Environmental Justice, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Characterisation of the Potential Impacts of Subsea Power Cables Associated with Offshore Renewable Energy Projects Taormina, B., Quillienn, N., Lejart, M., Carlier, A., Desroy, N., Laurans, M., Reynaud, M., Perignon, Y., Erussard, H., Derrien-Courtel, S., Le Gal, A., Derrien, R., Jolivet, A., Chavaud, S., Degret, V., Saffroy, D., Pagot, J., Barillier, A. Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind EMF, Habitat Change Physical Environment, Fish, Invertebrates
State of the Science Workshop on Offshore Wind and Wildlife 2020: Cumulative Impacts New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles
Spatial and temporal analysis of cumulative environmental effects of offshore wind farms in the North Sea basin Gusatu, L., Menegon, S., Depellegrin, D., Zuidema, C., Faaij, A., Yamu, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Chemicals, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Physical Environment, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions
Evaluating receiver contributions to acoustic positional telemetry: a case study on Atlantic cod around wind turbines in the North Sea van der Knaap, I., Slabbekoorn, H., Winter, H., Moens, T., Reubens, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Habitat Change Fish, Pelagic Fish
Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Scale Assessment of Marine Renewable Energy Structure in a Tidal System Raoux, A., Robin, I., Pezy, J., Bennis, A., Dauvin, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Changes in Flow, Habitat Change Physical Environment, Fish, Invertebrates
Vineyard Wind 1 Offshore Wind Energy Project: Final Environmental Impact Statement Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Technical Report: Assessment of Impacts to Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles, and ESA-Listed Fish Species Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Farm CSA Ocean Sciences Inc Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles
ROSA Offshore Wind Project Monitoring Framework and Guidelines ROSA Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning
Offshore wind farms and the attraction-production hypothesis: insights from a combination of stomach content and stable isotope analyses Mavraki, N., Degraer, S., Vanaverbeke, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Habitat Change Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish
Drivers of European bat population change: a review reveals evidence gaps Browning, E., Barlow, K., Burns, F., Hawkins, C., Boughey, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change Bats, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Integrating Social and Ecological Research on the Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms in North America ten Brink, T., Dalton, T., Livermore, J. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Habitat Change Fish, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Social & Economic Data
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