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Seal movements in tidal stream environments: Novel methods and ecological insights for the tidal stream turbine industry / WILLIAM KAY
Swansea University Author: WILLIAM KAY
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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.58768
Abstract
With the increasing threats of climate change, there is an ever-pressing need to reduce fossil fuel emissions. Thus, recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the development of marine renewable energy (MRE) devices – in particular tidal stream turbines (TSTs) – to exploit tidal stream environme...
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Swansea
2021
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Bull, James C., Börger, Luca. ; Wilson, Rory P. ; Stringell, Tom B. |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa58768 |
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<?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2021-11-24T15:10:27.5241958</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>58768</id><entry>2021-11-24</entry><title>Seal movements in tidal stream environments: Novel methods and ecological insights for the tidal stream turbine industry</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>5b1d11e6a8440cfdc2612ebdfcacaec2</sid><firstname>WILLIAM</firstname><surname>KAY</surname><name>WILLIAM KAY</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2021-11-24</date><abstract>With the increasing threats of climate change, there is an ever-pressing need to reduce fossil fuel emissions. Thus, recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the development of marine renewable energy (MRE) devices – in particular tidal stream turbines (TSTs) – to exploit tidal stream environments (TSEs) for green electricity generation. However, TSTs may pose threats to marine megafauna and relatively little is known about how animals operate in the environments targeted by these devices, and how they may be affected by them. This information is crucial for informing appropriate management strategies to mitigate the risk of conflict between animals and TST developments. Here, using grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) and harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) as my study species, with data collected from around the UK and neighbouring waters, including the Celtic and the North Sea, I aim to understand and quantify how seals move in TSEs and the implications of this for the TST industry. To achieve this, I quantify the broad-scale movement patterns of seals in coastal waters and their overlap with TSTs, examine the fine-scale movement and behaviour of seals in response to tidal conditions, derive recommendations on sample size and recording duration for animal tracking studies, and design new tags to track seals in TSEs at very fine-scales whilst minimising tag impact. My results suggest that the movements and behaviour of seals are driven by a combination of measurable (and in some cases predictable) demographic and environmental factors, and that the conservation strategies developed to manage the interaction between individuals and populations with TST devices must consider site-specific differences and account for individual variation, with consequences regarding data requirements. Further investigation is required to fully elucidate the extent of variability of seal movements in TSEs and the threats of TST developments, however the research presented herein provides new tools and ecological insights to support this need for both researchers and practitioners.</abstract><type>E-Thesis</type><journal/><volume/><journalNumber/><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher/><placeOfPublication>Swansea</placeOfPublication><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic/><keywords>climate change, marine renewable energy (MRE), tidal stream turbine (TST), tidal stream environment (TSE), marine megafauna, movement, behaviour, overlap, tags, tracking, grey seal, Halichoerus grypus, harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, site-specific differences, individual variation, conservation, management</keywords><publishedDay>24</publishedDay><publishedMonth>11</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2021</publishedYear><publishedDate>2021-11-24</publishedDate><doi>10.23889/SUthesis.58768</doi><url/><notes>A selection of third party content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis due to copyright restrictions.ORCiD identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6855-7153</notes><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><supervisor>Bull, James C., Börger, Luca. ; Wilson, Rory P. ; Stringell, Tom B.</supervisor><degreelevel>Doctoral</degreelevel><degreename>Ph.D</degreename><degreesponsorsfunders>Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship (KESS II) scheme part-funded through the Welsh Government's Convergence Programme of the European Social Fund (ESF). Natural Resources Wales (NRW) provided funding support as the Company Partner</degreesponsorsfunders><apcterm/><lastEdited>2021-11-24T15:10:27.5241958</lastEdited><Created>2021-11-24T13:24:59.8172438</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences</level></path><authors><author><firstname>WILLIAM</firstname><surname>KAY</surname><order>1</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>58768__21673__9b7418df1fdc4a57909299e6a214fda4.pdf</filename><originalFilename>William_Kay_P_PhD_Thesis_Final_Redacted.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2021-11-24T14:55:36.2714472</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>24940765</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Redacted version - open access</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><embargoDate>2022-12-31T00:00:00.0000000</embargoDate><documentNotes>Copyright: The author, William P. 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2021-11-24T15:10:27.5241958 v2 58768 2021-11-24 Seal movements in tidal stream environments: Novel methods and ecological insights for the tidal stream turbine industry 5b1d11e6a8440cfdc2612ebdfcacaec2 WILLIAM KAY WILLIAM KAY true false 2021-11-24 With the increasing threats of climate change, there is an ever-pressing need to reduce fossil fuel emissions. Thus, recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the development of marine renewable energy (MRE) devices – in particular tidal stream turbines (TSTs) – to exploit tidal stream environments (TSEs) for green electricity generation. However, TSTs may pose threats to marine megafauna and relatively little is known about how animals operate in the environments targeted by these devices, and how they may be affected by them. This information is crucial for informing appropriate management strategies to mitigate the risk of conflict between animals and TST developments. Here, using grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) and harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) as my study species, with data collected from around the UK and neighbouring waters, including the Celtic and the North Sea, I aim to understand and quantify how seals move in TSEs and the implications of this for the TST industry. To achieve this, I quantify the broad-scale movement patterns of seals in coastal waters and their overlap with TSTs, examine the fine-scale movement and behaviour of seals in response to tidal conditions, derive recommendations on sample size and recording duration for animal tracking studies, and design new tags to track seals in TSEs at very fine-scales whilst minimising tag impact. My results suggest that the movements and behaviour of seals are driven by a combination of measurable (and in some cases predictable) demographic and environmental factors, and that the conservation strategies developed to manage the interaction between individuals and populations with TST devices must consider site-specific differences and account for individual variation, with consequences regarding data requirements. Further investigation is required to fully elucidate the extent of variability of seal movements in TSEs and the threats of TST developments, however the research presented herein provides new tools and ecological insights to support this need for both researchers and practitioners. E-Thesis Swansea climate change, marine renewable energy (MRE), tidal stream turbine (TST), tidal stream environment (TSE), marine megafauna, movement, behaviour, overlap, tags, tracking, grey seal, Halichoerus grypus, harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, site-specific differences, individual variation, conservation, management 24 11 2021 2021-11-24 10.23889/SUthesis.58768 A selection of third party content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis due to copyright restrictions.ORCiD identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6855-7153 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Bull, James C., Börger, Luca. ; Wilson, Rory P. ; Stringell, Tom B. Doctoral Ph.D Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship (KESS II) scheme part-funded through the Welsh Government's Convergence Programme of the European Social Fund (ESF). Natural Resources Wales (NRW) provided funding support as the Company Partner 2021-11-24T15:10:27.5241958 2021-11-24T13:24:59.8172438 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences WILLIAM KAY 1 58768__21673__9b7418df1fdc4a57909299e6a214fda4.pdf William_Kay_P_PhD_Thesis_Final_Redacted.pdf 2021-11-24T14:55:36.2714472 Output 24940765 application/pdf Redacted version - open access true 2022-12-31T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: The author, William P. Kay, 2021. true eng |
| title |
Seal movements in tidal stream environments: Novel methods and ecological insights for the tidal stream turbine industry |
| spellingShingle |
Seal movements in tidal stream environments: Novel methods and ecological insights for the tidal stream turbine industry WILLIAM KAY |
| title_short |
Seal movements in tidal stream environments: Novel methods and ecological insights for the tidal stream turbine industry |
| title_full |
Seal movements in tidal stream environments: Novel methods and ecological insights for the tidal stream turbine industry |
| title_fullStr |
Seal movements in tidal stream environments: Novel methods and ecological insights for the tidal stream turbine industry |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Seal movements in tidal stream environments: Novel methods and ecological insights for the tidal stream turbine industry |
| title_sort |
Seal movements in tidal stream environments: Novel methods and ecological insights for the tidal stream turbine industry |
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5b1d11e6a8440cfdc2612ebdfcacaec2 |
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5b1d11e6a8440cfdc2612ebdfcacaec2_***_WILLIAM KAY |
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WILLIAM KAY |
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2021 |
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10.23889/SUthesis.58768 |
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With the increasing threats of climate change, there is an ever-pressing need to reduce fossil fuel emissions. Thus, recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the development of marine renewable energy (MRE) devices – in particular tidal stream turbines (TSTs) – to exploit tidal stream environments (TSEs) for green electricity generation. However, TSTs may pose threats to marine megafauna and relatively little is known about how animals operate in the environments targeted by these devices, and how they may be affected by them. This information is crucial for informing appropriate management strategies to mitigate the risk of conflict between animals and TST developments. Here, using grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) and harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) as my study species, with data collected from around the UK and neighbouring waters, including the Celtic and the North Sea, I aim to understand and quantify how seals move in TSEs and the implications of this for the TST industry. To achieve this, I quantify the broad-scale movement patterns of seals in coastal waters and their overlap with TSTs, examine the fine-scale movement and behaviour of seals in response to tidal conditions, derive recommendations on sample size and recording duration for animal tracking studies, and design new tags to track seals in TSEs at very fine-scales whilst minimising tag impact. My results suggest that the movements and behaviour of seals are driven by a combination of measurable (and in some cases predictable) demographic and environmental factors, and that the conservation strategies developed to manage the interaction between individuals and populations with TST devices must consider site-specific differences and account for individual variation, with consequences regarding data requirements. Further investigation is required to fully elucidate the extent of variability of seal movements in TSEs and the threats of TST developments, however the research presented herein provides new tools and ecological insights to support this need for both researchers and practitioners. |
| published_date |
2021-11-24T04:15:34Z |
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1763754046111350784 |
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11.016235 |