Vallejo Gillian C, Grellier Kate, Nelson Emily J, McGregor Ross M, Canning Sarah J, Caryl Fiona M, McLean Nancy
Natural Power Stirling UK.
Queen's Crescent Falkirk UK.
Ecol Evol. 2017 Sep 18;7(21):8698-8708. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3389. eCollection 2017 Nov.
Quantifying the likely effects of offshore wind farms on wildlife is fundamental before permission for development can be granted by any Determining Authority. The effects on marine top predators from displacement from important habitat are key concerns during offshore wind farm construction and operation. In this respect, we present evidence for no significant displacement from a UK offshore wind farm for two broadly distributed species of conservation concern: common guillemot () and harbor porpoise (). Data were collected during boat-based line transect surveys across a 360 km study area that included the Robin Rigg offshore wind farm. Surveys were conducted over 10 years across the preconstruction, construction, and operational phases of the development. Changes in guillemot and harbor porpoise abundance and distribution in response to offshore wind farm construction and operation were estimated using generalized mixed models to test for evidence of displacement. Both common guillemot and harbor porpoise were present across the Robin Rigg study area throughout all three development phases. There was a significant reduction in relative harbor porpoise abundance both within and surrounding the Robin Rigg offshore wind farm during construction, but no significant difference was detected between the preconstruction and operational phases. Relative common guillemot abundance remained similar within the Robin Rigg offshore wind farm across all development phases. Offshore wind farms have the potential to negatively affect wildlife, but further evidence regarding the magnitude of effect is needed. The empirical data presented here for two marine top predators provide a valuable addition to the evidence base, allowing future decision making to be improved by reducing the uncertainty of displacement effects and increasing the accuracy of impact assessments.
在任何审批机构批准海上风电场开发之前，量化其对野生动物可能产生的影响至关重要。在海上风电场建设和运营过程中，重要栖息地丧失对海洋顶级捕食者的影响是关键问题。在这方面，我们提供证据表明，对于两种分布广泛且受保护关注的物种：普通海鸠（）和港湾鼠海豚（），英国一个海上风电场并未导致它们出现显著的栖息地丧失。数据是在跨越360公里研究区域的船基样线调查中收集的，该区域包括罗宾里格海上风电场。调查在该开发项目的建设前、建设和运营阶段持续了10年。利用广义混合模型估计了普通海鸠和港湾鼠海豚的数量及分布因海上风电场建设和运营而发生的变化，以检验栖息地丧失的证据。在所有三个开发阶段，普通海鸠和港湾鼠海豚在罗宾里格研究区域均有出现。在建设期间，罗宾里格海上风电场内部及周边的港湾鼠海豚相对数量显著减少，但在建设前和运营阶段未检测到显著差异。在所有开发阶段，罗宾里格海上风电场内的普通海鸠相对数量保持相似。海上风电场有可能对野生动物产生负面影响，但还需要更多关于影响程度的证据。这里针对两种海洋顶级捕食者给出的实证数据为证据库增添了有价值的内容，通过减少栖息地丧失影响的不确定性和提高影响评估的准确性，有助于改进未来的决策。
