Marine mammals trace anthropogenic structures at sea

D.J.F.R., G.H., V.M.J., S.E.W.M. and B.M. were funded by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of their Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme. The tags and their deployment were funded by GSP, NUON, RWE, Eneco and Gemini, DECC, Natural Environment Resea...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current Biology
Main Authors: Russell, Deborah Jill Fraser, Brasseur, Sophie, Thompson, David, Hastie, Gordon Drummond, Janik, Vincent M., Aarts, Geert, McClintock, Brett Thomas, Matthiopoulos, Jason, Moss, Simon, McConnell, Bernie J
Other Authors: NERC, University of St Andrews. School of Biology, University of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotland, University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews. Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews. Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews. Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences, University of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution, University of St Andrews. Bioacoustics group
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2014
Subjects:
QH301 Biology
QL Zoology
NERC
BEIS/DECC
BDC
R2C
SDG 14 - Life Below Water
QH301
QL
Phoca vitulina
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10023/5560
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.06.033
Description
Summary:D.J.F.R., G.H., V.M.J., S.E.W.M. and B.M. were funded by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of their Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme. The tags and their deployment were funded by GSP, NUON, RWE, Eneco and Gemini, DECC, Natural Environment Research Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and Marine Scotland. On land, species from all trophic levels have adapted to fill vacant niches in environments heavily modified by humans (e.g. [1]). In the marine environment, ocean infrastructure has led to artificial reefs, resulting in localized increases in fish and crustacean density [2]. Whether marine apex predators exhibit behavioural adaptations to utilise such a scattered potential resource is unknown. Using high resolution GPS data we show how infrastructure, including wind turbines and pipelines, shapes the movements of individuals from two seal species (Phoca vitulina and Halichoerus grypus). Using state-space models, we infer that these animals are using structures to forage. We highlight the ecological consequences of such behaviour, at a time of unprecedented developments in marine infrastructure. Peer reviewed

Similar Items