Framework for assessing impacts of pile-driving noise from offshore wind farm construction on a harbour seal population
- Subacoustech Environmental Ltd., Unit 9, Claylands Road, Bishops Waltham, Southampton, Hampshire SO32 1QD (United Kingdom)
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD 20688 (United States)
- Natural Power Consultants, The Green House, Forrest Estate, Dalry, Castle Douglas DG7 3XS (United Kingdom)
Offshore wind farm developments may impact protected marine mammal populations, requiring appropriate assessment under the EU Habitats Directive. We describe a framework developed to assess population level impacts of disturbance from piling noise on a protected harbour seal population in the vicinity of proposed wind farm developments in NE Scotland. Spatial patterns of seal distribution and received noise levels are integrated with available data on the potential impacts of noise to predict how many individuals are displaced or experience auditory injury. Expert judgement is used to link these impacts to changes in vital rates and applied to population models that compare population changes under baseline and construction scenarios over a 25 year period. We use published data and hypothetical piling scenarios to illustrate how the assessment framework has been used to support environmental assessments, explore the sensitivity of the framework to key assumptions, and discuss its potential application to other populations of marine mammals. -- Highlights: • We develop a framework to support Appropriate Assessment for harbour seal populations. • We assessed potential impacts of wind farm construction noise. • Data on distribution of seals and noise were used to predict effects on individuals. • Expert judgement linked these impacts to vital rates to model population change. • We explore the sensitivity of the framework to key assumptions and uncertainties.
- OSTI ID:
- 22246911
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Vol. 43; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0195-9255
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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