Modelling the effect of marine renewable developments on UK seabird populations.

Find Similar History 34 Claim Ownership Request Data Change Add Favourite

Title
Modelling the effect of marine renewable developments on UK seabird populations.

CoPED ID
82fc7d56-bd2d-4e6b-b5af-ad75bae3370c

Status
Closed

Funders

Value
No funds listed.

Start Date
Sept. 19, 2015

End Date
Sept. 19, 2018

Description

More Like This


Studentship strategic priority area: Ecology, biodiversity and systematics - Ecology 50% - Conservation 50%
Keywords (maximum of five keywords): Seabirds, marine renewables, anthropogenic change, wind farms, tidal energy, population viability models, sublethal effects

Abstract: Britain has rapidly become the world leader in offshore renewables, with more offshore wind turbines consented in UK waters than in the rest of the world combined, and many new developments proposed. Britain also holds internationally important populations of many species of seabirds. Impacts of marine renewables on seabird populations are uncertain. All breeding seabird species in the UK are protected by EU law with over 80 Special Protection Areas designated in the UK for seabirds, representing a potential constraint on offshore renewables development, as cumulative impacts could at some point exceed legal thresholds. There is an urgent need to develop a tool to assess cumulative impacts of renewables on seabird populations, to assist developers and regulators to refine assessment of impacts of renewables on seabird populations. This project will address that urgent need. The student will work with academic and industrial supervisors and with scientific staff of the statutory nature conservation bodies (SNCBs) and regulators to develop a population viability analysis (PVA)-based population modelling approach that recognises the meta-population structure of seabird populations, their seasonal migrations and overlap of different international regional populations, and the concept of biologically defined minimum population scales (BDMPS) being promoted by SNCBs. The modelling approach will use the detailed demographic data available for most seabird species and combine that with the high quality colony census data available for seabirds in the UK. Assessments of the impacts of collision mortality and displacement by marine renewables will be coupled with the PVA model to project likely future dynamics. This modelling will assess projected population level impacts of marine renewables at an appropriate spatial scale (regions of the UK marine area or the whole of UK waters depending on the seabird species), with the consequences of impacts partitioned by season (since populations at risk differ among seasons).

University of Glasgow LEAD_ORG
MacArthur & Green STUDENT_PP_ORG

Jason Matthiopoulos SUPER_PER
Julie Miller STUDENT_PER

Subjects by relevance
  1. Birds
  2. Populations
  3. Population ecology
  4. Sea birds
  5. Nature conservation
  6. Wind energy
  7. Renewable energy sources
  8. Biodiversity
  9. Tidal energy
  10. Hydraulic turbines
  11. Population dynamics
  12. Protection (activity)
  13. Mariners

Extracted key phrases
  1. UK seabird population
  2. Population viability model
  3. Population level impact
  4. Marine renewable development
  5. Pva)-based population modelling approach
  6. UK marine area
  7. Population viability analysis
  8. Different international regional population
  9. Minimum population scale
  10. Offshore renewable development
  11. Seabird specie
  12. Important population
  13. Population structure
  14. PVA model
  15. UK water

Related Pages

UKRI project entry

UK Project Locations