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- Adding renewable structures creates an artificial reef effect
- Functional fishing exclusion protects biodiversity
- Fish mortality rates are low
- Biodiversity Impacts - Oceans
- Marine ecosystems are crucial to planetary support systems. Biodiversity is an evolutionary imperative
- Biodiversity Impacts - General
- Biodiversity loss risks widespread extinction
Biodiversity AdvantageMHK technologies cause an “artificial reef” effectOcean renewable energy development creates a cascading “reef effect” that revitalizes biodiversityEmily J. Shumchenia, ‘14, Ph.D., Post-doctoral fellow, University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, “Environmental effects of ocean renewable energy,” http://www.eshumchenia.com/environmental-effects-of-ocean-renewable-energy.html, Accessed 4/11/2014 Ocean renewable energy devices represent a net addition of hard bottom habitat to the marine environment, often in places where centuries of fishing have scoured or destroyed natural hard substrates. Newly available habitat will quickly be colonized by biofouling organisms, which could in turn cause fish, birds and whales to aggregate as they have on/near offshore oil and gas platforms. These “reef effects” will likely have cascading impacts that affect habitat complexity, biodiversity, human behavior, and the integrity and functioning of the devices. If fishing activities were excluded from large renewable energy arrays (as in the UK), they would represent de facto marine reserves. The figure above provides a conceptual diagram of the multiple feedbacks related to this topic. Some of the more complex research questions that could not be captured by a simple diagram include “How does fishing activity proximal to renewable energy devices affect the biofouling communities and surrounding benthic communities?” and “Do changes in seafloor geomorphology surrounding devices affect near-field hydrodynamics and drag on structures?” I have proposed this integrated work as a member of the URI team to the BOEM Environmental Studies Program for FY 2014-2016. Adding renewable structures creates an artificial reef effectMartin Attrill, Et al., June 19, ‘13, Professor and Director of Plymouth Marine Institute, Plymouth University “Marine Renewables, Biodiversity and Fisheries,” Plymouth Marine Institute at Plymouth University, http://www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/marine_ renewables_biodiver.pdf, Accessed 4/28/2014 Also it has to be recognised that benefits may accrue from adding physical structure to the environment in some locations, as it provides a new, albeit artificial, reef habitat for organisms to settle on (such as filter feeders). Such structure tends to attract and concentrate fish. Provision of physical structure results in increased benthic and fish biomass, though whether this is a concentration effect of fish or is a true boost to local populations is as yet unsure, in parallel with other artificial reef structures. Functional fishing exclusion protects biodiversityMarine renewable devices functionally create zones of exclusion for dangerous fishing methods, which protects biodiversityManuela Truebano, et al., June 19, ‘13, Ph.D., Lecturer in Marine Biology at the Plymouth Marine Institute, Plymouth University, “Marine Renewables, Biodiversity and Fisheries,” Plymouth Marine Institute at Plymouth University, http://www.foe.co.uk/sites/ default/files/downloads/marine_ renewables_biodiver.pdf, Accessed 4/28/2014 The exclusion of fishing vessels and gear to avoid interference with the devices will result in the creation of de facto fisheries exclusion zones, effectively acting as marine protected areas (MPA) to most fisheries. With fishing prohibited in and around the immediate vicinity of the devices (e.g. up to 500 m for wind farms), these arrays have the potential to serve as refuges for fish. For example, Wilhelmsson et al found higher density of fish in the immediate vicinity of an offshore wind farm. There was no difference in species diversity. An examination of the effects of the Danish Horns Rev wind farm on the lesser sandeel showed that the density of individuals increased within the wind farm during operation (approximately 300%), suggesting a positive effect. This species is of particular importance as it is present in high densities in some areas, and constitutes an important food source for larger fish, marine mammals and birds. While activities associated with the construction period are expected to be disruptive to the local environment, these are temporary and minimal when compared with the damage incurred by fishing activities such as trawling or dredging. The restriction of these extremely damaging methods within the array will undoubtedly enrich the benthic communities (based on assessments of the ecological impacts of towed fishing gears). A2: Kills fishFish mortality rates are lowUS DOE 12 (United States Dept. of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/successes/success_story.cfm/news_id=19165/prog=2900 Published Sept 2012. Accessed 23-6-14) EERE has released a report assessing likelihood of fish injury and mortality from the operation of hydrokinetic turbines. This report—completed by the Electric Power Research Institute in conjunction with researchers at Alden Laboratories and the U.S. Geological Survey Conte Laboratory—assesses potential injury mechanisms using data from studies with conventional hydro turbines, theoretical models for predicting blade strike probabilities and mortality rates, and results of flume testing with three turbine designs and several fish species to document fish behavior and estimate survival rates. Initial results indicate that fish injury and mortality rates in the test turbines were very low for the species tested—and, in most cases, were similar to the levels seen in the control groups of fish not exposed to the turbines—though the researchers point out that additional studies are needed for larger numbers of species, additional types of turbines, and in real-world settings. This work has led to additional follow-up studies on fish interactions with MHK turbines, including an investigation of fish turbine avoidance rates under light and dark conditions in flume settings. Biodiversity Impacts - OceansThe diverse role of oceans make them crucial to human survivalChris Gibson, et al, March 10, ‘14, Director of the UOW Global Challenges Program, “Why our precious oceans are under threat,” Global Challenges, http://uowblogs.com/globalchallenges/2014/03/10/the-threats-facing-our-precious-oceans/, Accessed 5/1/2014 The oceans are critical to the global environment and human survival in numerous ways – they are vital to the global nutrient cycling, represent a key repository and supporter of biological diversity on a world scale and play a fundamental role in driving the global atmospheric system. Coastal and marine environments support and sustain key habitats and living resources, notably fisheries and aquaculture. These resources continue to provide a critical source of food for hundreds of millions of people. The fishing industry supports the livelihoods of an estimated 540 million people worldwide and fisheries supply more than 15 per cent of the animal protein consumed by 4.2 billion people globally. Moreover, the oceans are an increasing source of energy resources and underpin the global economy through sea borne trade. Marine ecosystems are crucial to planetary support systems. Biodiversity is an evolutionary imperativeJohn C. Ogden, April ‘1, Director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography and biology professor at the University of South Florida, “Maintaining diversity in the oceans: issues for the new U.S. administration,” Environment, 43:3, p. 28. Marine ecosystems are major national capital assets. In addition to providing valuable goods, such as fisheries and minerals, they provide critical life support services, such as diluting, dispersing, and metabolizing the effluents of society, thus purifying waters for recreation. The value of a healthy ocean is difficult to overestimate. At a national level, economic evaluation of ecosystem services can guide policy decisions on inevitable development versus environment tradeoffs. For example, Florida's ocean policy estimates an annual economic value of $105 billion to ocean-related industries and tourism. Recent attempts to put a monetary value on global ecosystem services have stimulated much discussion as well as more comprehensive and ultimately more useful ways to evaluate the importance of nature. Finally, it is important to acknowledge that the value of nature to human society might be even more fundamental. E. O. Wilson, Pellegrino Research Professor in Entomology at Harvard University, has argued that people have an innate response to biodiversity that links us to our evolutionary origins and stands at the core of humanity and a sense of well-being. Biodiversity Impacts - GeneralProtecting every ecosystem possible is essential to human survivalReese Halter, December 13, ‘13, PhD, Biology, “Why Biodiversity Matters,” Malibu Times, http://www.malibutimes.com/blogs/ article_4fe268e4-6365-11e3-bf88-001a4bcf887a.html, Accessed 4/30/2014 In order for 7.1 billion people (and growing to 8 billion by 2023) to exist on Earth, we require old growth forests and tropical jungles to provide fresh water, white clouds to reflect incoming solar radiation at the tropics, oxygen and habitats for all the critters. Scientists must be allowed to study these magnificent ancient forests to understand how they work. Accordingly, a moratorium on logging any ancient forests on Earth is requisite. Wild forests contain untold cancer fighting and pain-relieving medicines. In addition, big trees are the most remarkable carbon warehouses to have ever evolved on our planet! If we deprive a species of what it needs to live, it becomes extinct. Globally, over the past 50 years, thousands of species have gone extinct due to human population pressures and destruction of habitat from mining and logging. Conservation biology is a relatively new, exciting and challenging branch of science. The discipline is charged with the responsibility of maintaining biological diversity or the tapestry of life on our planet. Protecting all remaining wild ecosystems brimming with biodiversity -- in face of rapid human-induced climate change -- is our salvation. Biodiversity loss risks widespread extinctionDavid N. Diner, ’94, Judge Advocate General's Corps, US Army, assigned as an Instructor, Administrative and Civil Law Division, The Judge Advocate General's School, United States Army, “The Army and the Endangered Species Act: Who’s Endangering Whom?,” Military Law Review, Winter 1994, 143 Mil. L. Rev. 161, https://litigationessentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&srctype= smi&srcid=3B15&doctype= cite&docid=143+Mil.+L.+Rev.+161&key=74c0a4d33b6577d13e8855231cd5cd4b, Accessed 5/2/2014 Biologically diverse ecosystems are characterized by a large number of specialist species, filling narrow ecological niches. These ecosystems inherently are more stable than less diverse systems. "The more complex the ecosystem, the more successfully it can resist a stress. . . . [l]ike a net, in which each knot is connected to others by several strands, such a fabric can resist collapse better than a simple, unbranched circle of threads -- which if cut anywhere breaks down as a whole." By causing widespread extinctions, humans have artificially simplified many ecosystems. As biologic simplicity increases, so does the risk of ecosystem failure. The spreading Sahara Desert in Africa, and the dustbowl conditions of the 1930s in the United States are relatively mild examples of what might be expected if this trend continues. Theoretically, each new animal or plant extinction, with all its dimly perceived and intertwined affects, could cause total ecosystem collapse and human extinction. Each new extinction increases the risk of disaster. Like a mechanic removing, one by one, the rivets from an aircraft's wings, mankind may be edging closer to the abyss. Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 0.89 Mb. Share with your friends:
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