Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney: will Wave Energy Extraction contribute to long-term change? Andrew Want Research Associate ICIT Heriot-Watt University
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney SuperGen II (Workstream 10) Ecological Consequences of Tidal and Wave Energy Conversion Researching littoral and sublittoral communities at exposed shorelines of Orkney since July 2009 Does removing energy by deploying Wave Energy Converting devices produce observable changes to the rocky shore ecosystem?
Sampling Sites: A. Northside, Birsay; B: Marwick Bay; C: Nebo Geo, Sandwick; D: Hole o Row, Skaill Bay; E: Billia Croo; F: The Ouse, Finstown; G: Weyland Bay; H: Bay of Sandoyne, Holm; I: Sandside Bay, Deerness;
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney Ecological Consequences of deploying wave energy converters may include: Direct physical impacts during construction, operation, decommissioning, etc Hydrodynamic changes to sedimentation, turbidity etc Potential changes to zonation and population dynamics due to reduced energy downstream (especially nonlinear effects) Wello Penguin en route to Hoy Pelamis off Hoy
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney We have established a monitoring regime to determine biological changes on rocky shores due to: Removal of energy by wave energy converters Long-term climatic change Local seasonal variations Random noise
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney Littoral Monitoring: Sublittoral Surveys and Monitoring: Cliff Surveys:
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney Littoral Monitoring: Some Candidate Species: Chthamalus stellatus S Fucus distichus anceps N Gibbula umbilicalis S Tectura testudinalis N Patella ulyssiponensis S
Length Index (cm) Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney Fucus distichus anceps -Boreal seaweed specialised for high energy environment -Expected to vacate UK waters with increased sea temperatures -Usually forms discrete zones Quadrat photography of F. distichus anceps Marwick Head: July 2010 26 Low spring tide shore observation: -Monthly photographic survey to determine density of cover -Biweekly measurement of tagged individuals -Quarterly fixed point photography of vertical zonation patterns (including Infra-red) 25 24 23 22 21 1/7/09 30/9/09 30/12/09 31/3/10 30/6/10 29/9/10 29/12/10 30/3/11 29/6/11 Maximum frond length of 23 individual members of F. vesiculosus f. linearis Recorded at Billia Croo: July 2009 - Current
Fucus distichus anceps: vertical zonation monitoring, Northside, Birsay
Fucus distichus anceps: vertical zonation monitoring, Northside, Birsay Porphyra umbilicalis F. distichus anceps Palmaria palmata Enteromorpha sp.
Fucus distichus anceps: vertical zonation monitoring, Northside, Birsay
Fucus distichus anceps: vertical zonation monitoring, Northside, Birsay
Fucus distichus anceps: vertical zonation monitoring, Northside, Birsay
Fucus distichus anceps: vertical zonation monitoring, Northside, Birsay
Fucus distichus anceps: vertical zonation monitoring, Northside, Birsay
Fucus distichus anceps: vertical zonation monitoring, Northside, Birsay Porphyra umbilicalis F. distichus anceps Palmaria palmata Enteromorpha sp.
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney Chthamalus stellatus (Poli s Stellate Barnacle) -Associated with weather-beaten headlands -Studies suggest great sensitivity to sea temperature changes -Distribution is spreading northwards -Monthly photographic survey of cleared rock surface to determine resettlement and competitive zonation patterns with another barnacle species (Semibalanus balanoides)
M90 quadrat (10 cm x 10 cm) Marwick Head: 1 March, 2010
Red = S. balanoides Green = C. stellatus
Percent cover: S. balanoides = 26.6% C. stellatus = 24.9%
Percent composition 100 80 60 40 % Chthamalus % Semibalanus 20 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Level 13
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney Newly settled cyprid larvae and juvenile balanoid barnacles Marwick Head 13 April, 2010. Marwick Head: 27 August, 2010 Chthamaloid cyprid larvae Juvenile chthamaloid
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney Sublittoral Survey and Monitoring Methodologies using: ROV -Transects to 75 m depth Drop Frame/Sled -To 150 m Biotope characterisation using subsea video and still imaging Sentinel species monitoring Ground-truthing of hydrodynamic models of tidal energy extraction & field wave energy profiling
Sublittoral Studies: Actinia equina, Alaria esculenta and L. digitata - Marwick Head: 5 metres Row Head - Transects: -500m latitudinal intervals -5m depth contours to 50m -Major biological zones Courtesy of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office 2005
Sublittoral Studies: Luidia ciliaris, L. hyperborea, Echinus esculentus and Alcyonium digitatum Row Head: 29 metres
Sublittoral Studies: Polychaete casts in fine sediment Stromness Harbour: 3 metres
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney Candidate sublittoral sentinel species: Cucumaria frondosa (a sea cucumber) Leptasterias muelleri (a sea star) Holothuria forskali ( cotton spinner ) Lithodes maja (Northern Stone Crab) N N S N
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney Sublittoral Studies: Ground-truthing tidal models and wave field data SUNTANS Tidal flow model of Pentland Firth Terabuoy Bob Beharie: ICIT/SuperGen PhD student
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney West Mainland Cliff Survey
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney West Mainland Cliff Survey Fucus distichus anceps Barnacles Mastocarpus stellatus Corallina officinalis Alaria esculenta
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney West Mainland Cliff Survey
N Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney West Mainland Cliff Survey Provide data for: Courtesy of the Ordnance Survey -detailed description of biotopes along this coastline -comprehensive spatial assessment of F. distichus anceps distribution including hydrodynamic and substrate evaluation -merging with bathymetric data supplied by The Crown Estate -merging with Geographic Information System database -informing Marine Spatial Planning at wave energy extraction sites
Recent Presentations/Publications Shields, Woolf, Grist, Kerr, Jackson, Harris, Bell, Beharie, Want, Osalusi, Gibb & Side (2011): Marine Renewable Energy: the Ecological Implications of Altering the Hydrodynamics of the Marine Environment. Ocean and Coastal Management. 54: 2-9. Want, Bell, & Side: Methodologies for the Study of the Ecological Consequences of Wave Energy Extraction on the Rocky Shoreline of Orkney. Journal of Marine Ecology (Publication submitted under review). Want, Bell, & Side: Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney: will Wave Energy Extraction contribute to long-term change? ICES Annual Science Conference, 22 September, 2011 (Abstract and Presentation). Want, Bell, & Side: Fucus distichus anceps: a sentinel for long-term climatic change. (In preparation) Want, Bell, & Side: West Mainland Orkney a Marine Biological Survey. (In preparation).
The Environmental Interactions Of Marine Renewable Energy Technologies www.eimr.org
Thank You Any Questions or comments? a.want@hw.ac.uk
% of Species Relative abundance % of species % of species Energy extraction only Climate change only 50 80 40 60 30 20 % Pu % Gu % Cs 40 % Pu % Gu % Cs 10 20 0 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 Reduced exposure Climate change Both energy extraction and climate change 0.4 100 80 0.3 0.2 Energy extraction or Climate change Both Energy extraction and Climate change 60 40 20 % Pu % Gu % Cs 0.1 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Reduced exposure / Climate change 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Reduced exposure & Climate change Expected change in relative abundance of Fucus distichus anceps in the presence of either or both of reduced exposure and climate change
Monitoring Marine Habitats of West Mainland Orkney Barnacle analysis