@article{8687722,
  abstract     = {{The installation of offshore wind farms (OWFs) adds artificial hard substrates into naturally soft-bottom areas, changing the local biodiversity. The turbine foundations are rapidly colonized by colonizing organisms, mainly consisting of suspension feeders that can potentially reduce the local primary producer standing stock. In this study, we estimated the amount of organic matter processed by colonizing assemblages of OWFs. We conducted a laboratory pulse-chase experiment, by offering C-13-labelled fragmented microalgae to PVC panels colonized by OWF colonizing fauna. The blue mussel Mytilus edulis showed the highest biomass-specific carbon assimilation, while the high densities of the amphipod Jassa herdmani resulted in the highest total carbon assimilation. By upscaling our results to the total number of the installed offshore wind turbines in the Belgian part of the North Sea, we estimate that these species can reduce the local primary producer standing stock in the area by ca. 1.3%. Mytilus edulis and J. herdmani communities colonizing offshore wind turbine foundations significantly increase carbon assimilation compared to natural soft sediment macrofauna inhabiting the same surface area (i.e. footprint of the turbines).}},
  author       = {{Mavraki, Ninon and Degraer, Steven and Vanaverbeke, Jan and Braeckman, Ulrike}},
  editor       = {{Norkko, Joanna}},
  issn         = {{1054-3139}},
  journal      = {{ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE}},
  keywords     = {{Ecology,Aquatic Science,Ecology,Evolution,Behavior and Systematics,Oceanography,artificial hard substrates,carbon assimilation,colonizing organisms,offshore wind turbines,primary producer standing stock,pulse-chase experiment,MUSSEL MYTILUS-EDULIS,IN-SITU EXPERIMENTS,ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,SUSPENSION-FEEDERS,FOOD SOURCES,NORTH-SEA,CARBON,COMMUNITY,FATE,VARIABILITY}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7-8}},
  pages        = {{2681--2693}},
  title        = {{Organic matter assimilation by hard substrate fauna in an offshore wind farm area : a pulse-chase study}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsaa133}},
  volume       = {{77}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}

Altmetric

View in Altmetric

Web of Science

Times cited: