About the project
This project will explore the physiological and behavioral effects of noise and vibration that is associated with pile driving as well as vessels and trenching during the installation and running of offshore windfarms.
The UK’s commitment to reach Net Zero by 2050 will be partially enabled by the rapid expansion of offshore wind (OW). Critical research gaps must be addressed to incorporate the cumulative influence of OW to sustainably maximise development potential. Marine environments are impacted by a range of activities that cause sound and vibration, including very loud, intermittent sounds of relatively short exposure, such as those produced during pile driving, to much more moderate underwater noises of longer duration, such as those produced by cable trenching and vessels. It is recognised that these can harm fish and modify their physiology and behaviour over a range of spatial and temporal scales and more research is needed to fully understand their effects.
This project will investigate the impact of underwater sound associated with OW construction and operation, particularly the effects of pile-driving associated sound and vibration on key demersal and pelagic fish species. We will assess time-integrated physiological and behavioural responses of fish to the sound and vibration signature associated with pile driving, specifically focussing on Ammodytes sp. (sandeels), S. canicular (Small-spotted catshark), and C. harengus (Atlantic herring). These species are selected to cover a wide range of ecological niches, trophic level and commercial importance. Ammodytes sp. represents a demersal, small-bodied species, which is a valuable food source for predatory marine fishes, marine mammals and birds. S. canicula is a small demersal scavenger, feeding on small fish, molluscs and crabs. C. harengus is one of the most commercially important species around Northern Europe with close food web links to other groups.
Training
The INSPIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at School of Ocean and Earth Science at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. Specific training will include:
- Experimental ecology
- Fish husbandry
- Ecology of marine fish
- Underwater acoustics
- Bioinformatics
- Data analysis and visualization (mainly in R)
- Presentation skills (oral and written)
- Teamwork
- Scientific writing
