Predicting regional vulnerability of threatened seabirds to offshore wind energy developments

海上风能的快速发展对于应对气候危机和实现净零排放目标是必要的。然而，风力涡轮机也可能对生物多样性产生负面影响，包括那些已经在挣扎的物种，比如海鸟。一个受欢迎的补偿方案是通过建造人工筑巢结构来增加幼鸟的招募，以平衡不断增加的成虫死亡率。该学生将研究海鸟筑巢和觅食的生态位，为海上风力发电场和人工筑巢结构的选址提供信息，并确保在气候变化下长期保护物种。这个多学科项目将使用动物跟踪来描述筑巢和觅食栖息地，以及投影模型来将当前和未来的海鸟筑巢和觅食与海上风力发电场和人工巢结构的放置联系起来。该项目将改进用于了解海上风电生态后果和减轻影响的方法。该项目旨在描述整个北大西洋三趾鸥全年的生态位；确定合适的地方发放离岸风电场牌照，以及建造离岸和陆上人工筑巢结构，以最大限度地保护物种；评估风电场和人工筑巢结构对气候变化下物种长期适应能力的影响。

Rapid expansion of offshore wind energy developments is necessary to tackle the climate crisis and to meet net zero targets. However, wind turbines may also have a negative impact on biodiversity, including species that are already struggling, such as seabirds. One favoured compensation option for balancing increased adult mortality is enhancing juvenile recruitment through the construction of artificial nesting structures. This studentship will characterise seabird nesting and foraging niches to inform the placement of offshore wind farms and artificial nesting structures and ensure long-term species protection under climate change. This multidisciplinary projectwill use animal tracking to characterise nesting and foraging habitat, as well as projection modelling to link current and future seabird nesting and foraging with the placement of offshore wind farms and artificial nestistructures. This project will improve methods used to understanding the ecological consequences of offshore wind and mitigate impact. The project aims to characterise the year-round ecological niche of kittiwakes throughout the North Atlantic; identify suitable areas for offshore wind farm licensing and construction of offshore and onshore artificial nesting structures to maximise species protection; and assess the impact of windfarms and artificial nesting structures on long-term species resilience under climate change.