| 1. |
- Andersen, Kristin, et al.
(author)
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Environmental Monitoring at the Maren Wave Power Test Site off the Island of Runde, Western Norway : Planning and Design
- 2009
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper provides a general description of theenvironmental monitoring programme currentlyongoing at Vattenfall’s/Tussa’s wave power testsite "Maren", on the Norwegian west coast. Thepurpose of the environmental monitoring istwofold: (i) to monitor the potential impact of theMaren installation on the environment, therebyfulfilling the consent requirements of theNorwegian authorities, (ii) more generally, to gainexperiences about the design and management ofan environmental monitoring programme and testa variety of monitoring methodologies andequipment. The primary environmentalparameters assessed in the monitoring programmeinclude fish, benthos and seabird communities.Observations on marine mammals are includedmarginally and underwater noise measurementsare scheduled to be included at a later stage. Therationale for choosing the specific components ofthe monitoring programme is elucidated in thecontext of site specific environmental features, aswell as project-specific technical characteristics.Generally, the monitoring strategy follows amodified so-called BACI (Before-After, Control-Impact) design, i.e. takes place before and afterdeployment of the wave power devices and duringoperation over a period of approximately 3 years.A communication plan accompanies theprogramme and is considered an essentialprerequisite for transparency and publicacceptance of the programme.
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| 2. |
- Bender, Anke, et al.
(author)
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Colonisation of wave power foundations by mobile mega- and macrofauna - a 12 year study
- 2020
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In: Marine Environmental Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0141-1136 .- 1879-0291. ; 161
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Environmental impacts from wave energy generators on the local mobile mega- and macrofauna community have been investigated in the Lysekil project by Uppsala University. Offshore renewable energy installations provide hard, artificial substrates, and as such, they could act as artificial reefs. Foundations with manufactured holes served as complex habitats and foundations without served as non-complex. In this long-term study, SCUBA surveys of mobile fauna in the years 2007, 2008 and 2016-2019 were analyzed. The results show a distinct reef effect on the foundations with significant greater species richness, total number of individuals, greater values of the Shannon-Wiener biodiversity index, and greater abundance of specific reef fauna. Complex foundations accommodated a greater abundance of brown crabs than non-complex foundations, other taxa did not show differences between the two foundation types. A successional increase of species richness, numbers of individuals and Shannon-Wiener biodiversity could be revealed from the first to the second survey period. Inter-annual variation was visible throughout all taxa and years.
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| 3. |
- Bender, Anke, et al.
(author)
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Effects of a Wave Power Park with No-Take Zone on Decapod Abundance and Size
- 2021
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In: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. - : MDPI. - 2077-1312. ; 9:8, s. 864-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Past studies have revealed higher levels of biodiversity, total abundance, and size ofindividuals around offshore installations of renewable energy. This study investigated the effectsof Lysekil wave power park (area 0.5 km2) on the abundance and carapace size of decapods at theSwedish west coast. For that purpose, decapods were caught with cages during four consecutivesummers. Two types of cages were applied to catch a wide range of decapod species and sizes. Theabundance and size of decapods were not significantly different within the wave power park and upto a distance of 360 m outside of it. The catch rate, i.e., number of decapods caught in 24 h, was notsignificantly different among sampling locations but revealed inter-annual variation for both cagetypes. The results suggest a limited role of the incidental no-take zone of the small Lysekil wavepower park on the abundance and size of local decapods. However, neither were negative impacts,such as decreasing abundances or smaller carapace sizes, discovered. As an increase in the numberof marine renewable energy production sites is foreseen, a scaled-up and larger study addressingMPA networks and other environmental interactions should be considered.
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| 4. |
- Bender, Anke, 1986-, et al.
(author)
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Effects of distance from a wave power park with no-take zone on Nephrops norvegicus abundance, size and burrow density
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The introduction of marine renewable energy parks often comes along with restrictions, such as prohibition of marine traffic or fishing. The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, is an ecologically relevant and economically important species, which potentially could benefit from such restrictions. This study investigated the effects of the no-take zone of a wave power park (0.8 km2) after its establishment (2014−2015), on the abundance, size, and burrow density of N. norvegicus on the west coast of Sweden. For four summers (2016−2018, 2020), the abundance and size of N. norvegicus was quantified by deployment of fishing cages inside the wave power park as well as along a 1230 m long transects to the east and west of it. Furthermore, the abundance of N. norvegicus burrows were recorded by a remote operating vehicle (ROV) along the same transects. N. norvegicus abundance, size and burrow density were expected to decrease with distance from the wave power park. During the study period, the number of N. norvegicus slightly increased, by 0.03 individuals every 100 m. Interannual variation of distance-dependent change in abundance resulted in up to 45.6 % fewer individuals in one km distance from the wave park in 2016 but in turn 25.8 % more individuals in one km distance from the wave park in 2018. Carapace length slightly decreased throughout the study, on average by 0.03 cm for every 100 m distance from the wave power park. Interannual variation of distance-dependent change in carapace length varied by one order of magnitude, resulting up to 10.6 % smaller individuals per km distance from the park in 2017. Overall, the number of N. norvegicus burrows decreased with distance, by 0.7 burrows every 100 m. Variation of distance-dependent change in burrow abundance resulted in 26.1 and 45.2 % more burrows in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The results suggest a benefit for the size and burrow density of N. norvegicus and a limited role for the number of individuals from the small and newly introduced incidental no-take zone of the Sotenäs Project wave power park.
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| 5. |
- Bender, Anke
(author)
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Environmental Effects from Wave Power : Artificial Reefs and Incidental No-take Zones
- 2022
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Marine renewable technologies have rapidly been developing over the past decade. Wave power is one of the renewable sources and has the potential securing the renewable electricity production. However, all renewable energy extraction affects the environment in some way and for a true sustainable energy generation, environmental effects need to be investigated. Beside uncertain effects from the technologies to habitats or organisms e.g., collision risks, electromagnetic fields, noise, past studies have also shown benefits on diversity, size and abundance of species around marine renewable technologies as a result of habitat creation by the devices and fishery exclusion in designated offshore park areas.This thesis deals with environmental effects from heaving point-absorber wave energy converters developed at Uppsala University and deployed on the Swedish west coast at the Lysekil research site and the Sotenäs Project wave power park over a period of four years. The scope was the investigation of artificial reef effects from wave power foundations on local mobile, mega and macrofauna during visual inspections using scuba diving on the first hand. On the second hand, the effects from the incidental no-take zone on decapods and two sea pen species were investigated applying cage fishing and ROV seabed surveys. A third focus was on environmental monitoring around MRE sites and monitoring of MRE installations, both in an experimental and theoretical approach.In the Lysekil research site, the results highlight that abundance and diversity can be enhanced locally around wave power foundations compared to control areas. The abundance and size of decapods were not significantly different within the wave power park and up to a distance of 360 m outside of it. In the Sotenäs Project wave power park a positive effect on Nephrops norvegicus size and burrow density but not on abundance was found on a scale of up to 1230 m. Sea pen abundance was enhanced inside the wave power park. However, interannual variation was strong.In conclusion, wave power foundations can influence abundance and diversity of marine organisms around foundations on a very local scale (meters). With the methods in this study, the investigations did not reveal strong effects on the abundance and size of decapods on a larger scale up to 1230 m away from foundations as a result of the no-take zone. However, a focus should be put on a further development of environmental monitoring routines around MRE sites and their evaluation.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Bender, Anke, et al.
(author)
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Imaging-sonar observations of salmonid interactions with a vertical axis instream turbine
- 2023
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In: Rivers Research and Applications. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1535-1459 .- 1535-1467.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Anthropogenic activities and their influences on aquatic systems is an important topic, especially considering the growing interest in using the earth's resources in a sustainable way. One of those anthropogenic activities is the introduction of renewable technologies into the aquatic environment such as instream turbines. Environmental studies around those technologies are often still ongoing due to their novelty. During the spring of 2018, juvenile individuals of two salmonid species, Atlantic salmon and brown trout were released upstream a vertical axis instream turbine in the river Dal (Dalälven) in eastern Sweden. The aim of this study was to investigate the swimming behavior of the salmonids around a small-scale prototype vertical axis instream turbine. The swimming pattern and the possible response of avoiding the vertical axis instream turbine were documented with a multi beam sonar. A control area, next to the turbine, was used as reference. No consistent results were shown for trout as they were passing the control area with a statistically high variation, and specimens were rarely observed in proximity of the turbine, neither if the turbine was operating nor at stand still. Salmon clearly avoided the operating turbine, but did not avoid the turbine when it was at stand still, and was often observed swimming straight through the turbine area. These findings indicate that operating this type of instream turbine in a river affects the swimming behavior of Atlantic salmon but is unlikely to affect its migration paths. For brown trout, the statistical results are inconclusive, although data indicate a response of avoiding the turbine. The species are in little risk to suffer physical harm as no fish entered the rotating turbine, despite very turbid water conditions.
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| 9. |
- Komyakova, Valeriya, et al.
(author)
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Conceptualisation of multiple impacts interacting in the marine environment using marine infrastructure as an example
- 2022
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 830
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The human population is increasingly reliant on the marine environment for food, trade, tourism, transport, communication and other vital ecosystem services. These services require extensive marine infrastructure, all of which have direct or indirect ecological impacts on marine environments. The rise in global marine infrastructure has led to light, noise and chemical pollution, as well as facilitation of biological invasions. As a result, marine systems and associated species are under increased pressure from habitat loss and degradation, formation of ecological traps and increased mortality, all of which can lead to reduced resilience and consequently increased invasive species establishment. Whereas the cumulative bearings of collective human impacts on marine populations have previously been demonstrated, the multiple impacts associated with marine infrastructure have not been well explored. Here, building on ecological literature, we explore the impacts that are associated with marine infrastructure, conceptualising the notion of correlative, interactive and cumulative effects of anthropogenic activities on the marine environment. By reviewing the range of mitigation approaches that are currently available, we consider the role that eco-engineering, marine spatial planning and agent-based modelling plays in complementing the design and placement of marine structures to incorporate the existing connectivity pathways, ecological principles and complexity of the environment. Because the effect of human-induced, rapid environmental change is predicted to increase in response to the growth of the human population, this study demonstrates that the development and implementation of legislative framework, innovative technologies and nature-informed solutions are vital, preventative measures to mitigate the multiple impacts associated with marine infrastructure.
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| 10. |
- Langhamer, Olivia, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Artificial reef effect and fouling impacts on offshore wave power foundations and buoys : a pilot study
- 2009
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In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0272-7714 .- 1096-0015. ; 82:3, s. 426-432
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Little is known about the effects of offshore energy installations on the marine environment, and further research could assist in minimizing environmental risks as well as in enhancing potential positive effects on the marine environment. While biofouling on marine energy conversion devices on one hand has the potential to be an engineering concern, these structures can also affect biodiversity by functioning as artificial reefs. The Lysekil Project is a test park for wave power located at the Swedish west coast. Here, buoys acting as point absorbers on the surface are connected to generators anchored on concrete foundations on the seabed. In this study we investigated the colonisation of foundations by invertebrates and fish, as well as fouling assemblages on buoys. We examined the influence of surface orientation of the wave power foundations on epibenthic colonisation, and made observations of habitat use by fish and crustaceans during three years of submergence. We also examined fouling assemblages on buoys and calculated the effects of biofouling on the energy absorption of the wave power buoys. On foundations we demonstrated a succession in colonisation over time with a higher degree of coverage on vertical surfaces. Buoys were dominated by the blue mussel Mytilus edulis. Calculations indicated that biofouling have no significant effect in the energy absorption on a buoy working as a point absorber. This study is the first structured investigation on marine organisms associated with wave power devices
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