UHI Research Database pdf download summary Black guillemot ecology in relation to tidal stream energy generation: An evaluation of current knowledge and information gaps Johnston, Daniel T.; Furness, Robert W.; Robbins, Alexandra M. C.; Tyler, Glen; Taggart, Mark A.; Masden, Elizabeth A. Published in: Marine Environmental Research Publication date: 2018 Publisher rights: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The re-use license for this item is: CC BY-NC-ND The Document Version you have downloaded here is: Peer reviewed version The final published version is available direct from the publisher website at: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.01.007 Link to author version on UHI Research Database Citation for published version (APA): Johnston, D. T., Furness, R. W., Robbins, A. M. C., Tyler, G., Taggart, M. A., & Masden, E. A. (2018). Black guillemot ecology in relation to tidal stream energy generation: An evaluation of current knowledge and information gaps. 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Sep. 2021 Accepted Manuscript Black guillemot ecology in relation to tidal stream energy generation: An evaluation of current knowledge and information gaps Daniel T. Johnston, Robert W. Furness, Alexandra M.C. Robbins, Glen Tyler, Mark A. Taggart, Elizabeth A. Masden PII: S0141-1136(17)30385-9 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.01.007 Reference: MERE 4436 To appear in: Marine Environmental Research Received Date: 21 June 2017 Revised Date: 9 January 2018 Accepted Date: 10 January 2018 Please cite this article as: Johnston, D.T., Furness, R.W., Robbins, A.M.C., Tyler, G., Taggart, M.A., Masden, E.A., Black guillemot ecology in relation to tidal stream energy generation: An evaluation of current knowledge and information gaps, Marine Environmental Research (2018), doi: 10.1016/ j.marenvres.2018.01.007. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. 1 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 1 Black guillemot ecology in relation to tidal stream energy generation: An 2 evaluation of current knowledge and information gaps 3 Daniel T. Johnston 1*, Robert W. Furness 2, Alexandra M.C. Robbins 3, Glen Tyler 3, Mark A. Taggart 1, 4 Elizabeth A. Masden 1 5 1 Environmental Research Institute, North Highland College UHI, University of the Highlands and 6 Islands, Thurso, KW14 7EE 2 MacArthur Green Ltd, 95 South Woodside Road, Glasgow, G20 6NT, UK; 3 7 Scottish Natural Heritage, Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness, IV3 8NW 8 *Correspondence author. email: [email protected] 9 Keywords: renewable energy, conservation, marine spatial planning, environmental impact 10 assessment, seabirds 11 Abstract 12 The black guillemot Cepphus grylle has been identified as a species likely to interact with marine 13 renewable energy devices, specifically tidal turbines, with the potential to experience negative 14 impacts. This likelihood is primarily based on the speciesMANUSCRIPT being a diving seabird, and an inshore, 15 benthic forager often associating with tidal streams. These behavioural properties may bring them 16 into contact with turbine blades, or make them susceptible to alterations to tidal current speed, 17 and/or changes in benthic habitat structure. We examine the knowledge currently available to 18 assess the potential impacts of tidal stream turbines on black guillemot ecology, highlight knowledge 19 gaps and make recommendations for future research. The key ecological aspects investigated 20 include: foraging movements, diving behaviour, seasonal distribution, other sources of disturbance 21 and colony recovery. Relating to foraging behaviour, between studies there is heterogeneity in black 22 guillemot habitatACCEPTED use in relation to season, tide, diurnal cycles, and bathymetry. Currently, there is 23 also little knowledge regarding the benthic habitats associated with foraging. With respect to diving 24 behaviour, there is currently no available research regarding how black guillemots orientate and 25 manoeuvre within the water column. Black guillemots are considered to be a non-migratory species, 26 however little is known about their winter foraging range and habitat. The effect of human 2 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 27 disturbance on breeding habitat and the metapopulation responses to potential mortalities are 28 unknown. It is clear further understanding of black guillemot foraging habitat and behaviour is 29 needed to provide renewable energy developers with the knowledge to sustainably locate tidal 30 turbines and mitigate their impacts. 31 Acknowledgments 32 DTJ is funded through a Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) 33 studentship supported by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The authors thank Nicola Largey, Nina 34 O’Hanlon, and the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggested improvements to the 35 manuscript. 36 1. Introduction 37 Seabirds are affected by anthropogenic activities including fishing (Daunt et al., 2008; 38 Furness, 2002), oil spills (Ewins, 1986; Golet et al., 2002), and climate change (Grémillet and 39 Boulinier, 2009; MacDonald et al., 2015). The increMANUSCRIPTase in anthropogenic activity arising from the 40 growing marine renewable energy industry still has unknown effects on seabirds (Inger et al., 2009). 41 In Scotland, this industry is driven by goals set by the Scottish Government to achieve 100% 42 renewable energy by 2020 (Davies et al., 2014). Tidal stream energy devices, i.e. those based on 43 tidally driven currents channelled through narrow areas between landmasses or around headlands, 44 are currently being tested and installed in advance of potential large-scale implementation. In 45 Scotland, 18 inshore areas have been leased for tidal development (The Crown Estate, 2016). In the 46 Pentland Firth, arraysACCEPTED of up to 398 large tidal stream turbines are planned in areas with potential 47 current speeds of >2 m/s -1 (Rollings, 2011), with 3 trial turbines installed in winter 2016/17. 48 The potential impacts of tidal turbines on diving seabirds are largely unknown since only a 49 few devices have been deployed to date (Savidge et al., 2014; SNH, 2016). In Scotland, the black 50 guillemot Cepphus grylle has been highlighted as the seabird species most at risk from tidal turbines 3 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 51 (Furness et al., 2012; Robbins, 52 2012), in part, due to their 53 association with tidal streams (Nol 54 and Gaskin, 1987; Waggitt et al., 55 2016b). It has been suggested that 56 the impacts of tidal turbines on 57 diving seabirds may include 58 changes to foraging habitat, 59 foraging efficiency, and diving 60 behaviour (Benjamins et al., 2015; 61 Scott et al., 2014) as well as direct 62 mortality through collision (Furness 63 et al., 2012; Wilson et al., 2006). MANUSCRIPT64 The need for further research 65 regarding impacts to and Figure 1. Scottish wave and tidal renewable lease areas and black66 responses of seabirds to renewable guillemot Marine Protected Areas 67 energy installations has been 68 highlighted (Inger et al., 2009; Langton et al., 2011; Scott et al., 2014), especially in relation to tidal 69 turbines (Furness et al., 2012; Masden et al., 2013) though it is acknoweldged that this poses 70 challenges (Fox et al., 2018). The sensitivity of diving seabirds to the impacts of tidal turbines is likely 71 to vary in relation to the extent of spatial and temporal overlap (Waggitt and Scott, 2014). In the 72 absence of empiricalACCEPTED data, sensitivity can be expected to relate to foraging locations, diving depth, 73 variation in year-round distribution and behaviour, association with tidal currents, visual nature of 74 foraging, and diurnal rhythms in foraging (Furness et al., 2012; Wilson et al., 2006). Further 75 ecological knowledge of these factors is needed to inform decision makers on the potential impacts 76 related to tidal turbine allocation and operation. 4 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 77 The siting of marine renewable lease sites around Scotland coincides with the designation of 78 six Scottish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) specifically with black guillemots as a major protected 79 feature (SNH, 2014; Figure 1). A further four MPAs have been established for benthic communities 80 containing kelp which may in turn protect habitat associated with black guillemot prey (blennies and 81 gadoids) (Ewins, 1990; SNH, 2014). This also emphasises the need for more information on black 82 guillemot foraging ecology to ensure MPAs fulfil their desired conservation outcomes by 83 encompassing foraging habitat. 84 The aim of this paper is to provide a synthesis of current knowledge regarding black 85 guillemot ecology and its relevance to potential impacts from tidal stream turbines. Key aspects of 86 black guillemot movement are reviewed, including: (1) foraging movements, (2) diving behaviour, 87 and (3) seasonal distribution.