Empirical measures of harbor seal behavior and avoidance of an operational tidal turbine.

Autor: Joy R; SMRU Consulting Canada, Suite 510, 1529 6th Avenue West, Vancouver, BC V6J 1R1, Canada; Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. Electronic address: rj@smruconsulting.com., Wood JD; SMRU Consulting USA, PO Box 764, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, USA., Sparling CE; SMRU Consulting Europe, New Technology Centre, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SR, Scotland., Tollit DJ; SMRU Consulting Canada, Suite 510, 1529 6th Avenue West, Vancouver, BC V6J 1R1, Canada., Copping AE; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 1100 Dexter Ave N, Suite 400, Seattle, WA, USA., McConnell BJ; Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, Scotland.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Marine pollution bulletin [Mar Pollut Bull] 2018 Nov; Vol. 136, pp. 92-106. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Sep 10.
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.08.052
Abstrakt: There is global interest in marine renewable energy from underwater tidal turbines. Due to overlap in animal habitat with locations for tidal turbines, the potential for collisions has led to concern around strike risk. Using data from tagged harbor seals collected before construction and after operation of the SeaGen tidal turbine in Northern Ireland, this study quantifies risks of an operational turbine to harbor seals by taking into account turbine characteristics, tidal state, and seal behavior. We found 68% spatial avoidance (95% C.I., 37%, 83%) by harbor seals within 200 m of the turbine. When additionally accounting for variation in seal occupancy over depth and tidal flows, there is an overall reduction in collision risk from 1.29 to 0.125 seals per tidal cycle (90.3% reduction; (95% C.I., 83%, 98%)) compared to risk calculated under assumptions of uniform habitat use. This demonstrates the need to incorporate environmental conditions to properly assess strike risk.
(Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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