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.

Title	Author	Date Sort ascending	Content Type	Technology	Stressor	Receptor
Investigations of Birds During Construction and Operation of Nysted Offshore Wind Farm at Rødsand	Kahlert, J., Petersen, I., Fox, A., Desholm, M., Clausager, I.	January 2004	Report	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Avoidance, Habitat Change	Birds
Onshore Environmental Impact Statement for Lincs, Docking Shoal, and Race Bank OSW Farms	Centrica Energy	June 2003	Report	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Habitat Change
Birds and Offshore Wind Farms: A Hot Topic in Marine Ecology	Exo, K., Hüppop, O., Garthe, S.	April 2003	Journal Article	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change	Birds, Seabirds
Burbo Offshore Wind Farm Volume 2: ES Biological Environment	The University of Liverpool Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies	September 2002	Report	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Habitat Change	Marine Mammals, Invertebrates, Fish
Postdevelopment Experiments to Detect Anthropogenic Disturbances: The Case of Sea Ducks and Wind Parks	Guillemette, M., Larsen, J.	June 2002	Journal Article	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Habitat Change	Waterfowl, Birds
Predicting the Displacement of Common Scoter Melanitta nigra from Benthic Feeding Areas Due to Offshore Windfarms	Kaiser, M., Elliott, A., Galanidi, M., Ivor, E., Rees, S., Caldow, R., Stillman, R., Sutherland, W., Showler, D.	March 2002	Report	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Displacement, Habitat Change	Birds, Waterfowl
Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm Environmental Statement	GE Wind Energy	January 2002	Report	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Habitat Change	Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Assessment of the Effects of Offshore Wind in Birds	Percival, S.	January 2001	Report	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Avoidance, Collision, Habitat Change	Birds, Seabirds, Waterfowl
Effects of Marine Windfarms on the Distribution of Fish, Shellfish and Marine Mammals in the Horns Rev Area	Hoffmann, E., Astrup, J., Larsen, F., Munch-Petersen, S., Støttrup, J.	May 2000	Report	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Noise, Habitat Change, EMF, Avoidance, Attraction	Pinnipeds, Marine Mammals, Invertebrates, Fish
Effects on Birds of an Offshore Wind Park at Horns Rev: Environmental Impact Assessment	Noer, H., Christensen, T., Clausager, I., Petersen, I.	January 2000	Report	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change	Birds, Raptors, Seabirds, Waterfowl, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Meteorological aspects of offshore wind energy: Observations from the Vindeby wind farm	Barthelmie, R., Courtney, M., Højstrup, J., Larsen, S.	September 1996	Journal Article	Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind	Changes in Flow, Habitat Change	Physical Environment