Localised anthropogenic wake generates a predictable foraging hotspot for top predators.

ABSTRACT: With rapid expansion of offshore renewables, a broader perspective on their ecological implications is timely to predict marine predator responses to environmental change. Strong currents interacting with man-made structures can generate complex three-dimensional wakes that can make prey more accessible. Whether localised wakes from man-made structures can generate predictable foraging hotspots for top predators is unknown. Here we address this question by quantifying the relative use of an anthropogenically-generated wake by surface foraging seabirds, verified using drone transects and hydroacoustics. We show that the wake of a tidal energy structure promotes a localised and persistent foraging hotspot, with seabird numbers greatly exceeding those at adjacent natural wake features. The wa

SUBMITTER: Lieber L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6449372 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature