Effects of Wind on Seabird Flight and Distribution: Implications for Assessing Impact of Offshore Wind Farms - Biosciences - NERC GW4+ DTP Studentship

This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP). The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus six Research Organisation partners: British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Met Office, the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/

The studentships will provide funding for a stipend which is currently £14,553 per annum for 2017-2018, research costs and UK/EU tuition fees at Research Council UK rates for 42 months (3.5 years) for full-time students, pro rata for part-time students.


Location: Penryn Campus, Cornwall


Project description:

Offshore wind farms have helped reduce reliance on fossil fuels and decrease greenhouse gas production, but these benefits must be offset against any potential negative impacts on biodiversity.

Seabirds are particularly at risk from offshore wind farms. These birds perform long flights between terrestrial colonies and marine foraging grounds, where collisions and displacement may have deleterious effects. However, changing wind due to climate change may alter these impacts because wind shapes flight speeds, flight costs and bird distribution. However, prevailing and future wind conditions are not currently considered when assessing wind farm impacts.

In conjunction with CASE partner MacArthur Green, this studentship will provide the first assessment of the differential effects of wind on the behaviour of a range of different seabird species tracked during foraging movements, and place this in the context of assessing potential collision and displacement risks of offshore wind farms.

Project Aims and Methods:

This project will use existing tracking to determine the impact of wind on flight across the diversity of UK seabirds, in the context of potential offshore wind farm effects. This is an ideal system to study such effects because: (1) the UK supports 8 million breeding seabirds of 25 species; (2) with 30 offshore wind farms, the UK is the largest producer of electricity from offshore wind and (3) climate change is predicated to alter UK wind regimes. We have GPS tracking data from 3045 individuals, 29 colonies, 13 years and 8 species. This diversity and scale is important not only because wind is likely to have divergent effects depending on species but also because the wide range of sites and time periods minimises any potentially confounding effects of short-term site-specific studies.

Objectives:

To determine how different seabirds adjust timing and direction of foraging trips in relation to wind speed and direction.

To determine species‐specific airspeed and groundspeed in relation to wind speed and direction.

To conduct species‐specific habitat models in relation to wind conditions

What are the implications of our research for assessing the impact of marine renewables on seabirds?

Candidate:

This studentship will be largely desk­‐based, focusing on the analysis of precision tracking data. Therefore the candidate would ideally be highly numerate and able to handle large datasets and sophisticated movement models.

Case Award Description:

MacArthur Green is an environmental consultancy whose casework includes assessments of the potential impact of offshore wind farms. This project emerged as it became clear that information on the distribution and movement of a range of seabird species, and how this might vary in the face of changing wind, is severely lacking, yet is fundamental to assessing offshore wind farm impacts over the time scales (>25 years) required in planning applications and relevant to seabird life histories and demography.

Training:

In addition to key skills common to a studentship, the candidate will receive training in the analysis of animal movement, mapping and processing of remotely sensed data to reconstruct seabird movement and concurrent risks of collision/displacement. In addition, the postgraduate student will work closely with the CASE partner to learning important skills for consultancy such as the timely provision of concise reports to clients, and the ability to advise clients on the decision they should make in the light of evidence.