Red-throated Diver Energetics Project
Can red-throated divers accommodate the effects of displacement by offshore wind farms?
JNCC Statement on Red-throated Diver Energetics Project Fieldwork in Scotland during the Coronavirus Pandemic
On 23 March 2020 the UK government issued new measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus. This includes staying at home except for exceptional essential reasons. Whilst it is possible to leave the house to take exercise, this should only be done with members of the same household. See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others for more information.
Fieldwork for the Red-throated Diver Energetics Project would not be compliant with these measures. The work would require working with people from other households and leaving the home for non-essential reasons.
It is essential that those involved with the Red-throated Diver Energetics Project in Scotland follow the latest UK Government advice to ensure their own safety and well-being and to prevent the transmission of the virus. Consequently, JNCC will not be contracting fieldworkers to work in Scotland during 2020. In addition, JNCC strongly discourages fieldworkers from choosing to voluntarily undertake fieldwork on the project during 2020. We ask fieldworkers to follow government advice, which is currently to remain at home.
We hope that we will be able to resume fieldwork in 2021.
If you have any questions, please contact rtd@jncc.gov.uk.
JNCC, 26 March 2020
Summary
Offshore wind farms cause displacement of red-throated divers but the consequences are unknown. This project aims to obtain empirical data on the proportion of time divers spend foraging, from which their ability to accommodate additional energetic costs of displacement can be inferred.
Red-throated diver on a lake. (Photo: Petteri Lehikoinen / Avescapes)
Work involved
Red-throated divers are tagged with geolocators and time-depth recorders to reveal where and for how long divers forage during the non-breeding season. Adults breeding in Scotland, Finland and Iceland were tagged during the 2018 and 2019 breeding seasons, with tags retrieved during 2019 and further retrievals planned for 2020. Data analysis will provide an indication of where each individual wintered and detailed information on dive depth, duration and frequency. If divers forage for only a small part of each day, it could be inferred they are easily capable of meeting their energetic requirements in the non-breeding season and so may have the capacity to accommodate the additional energetic costs of displacement.
Birds are fitted with special rings and tags to track location and record time and depth of dives. (Photo: Petteri Lehikoinen / Avescapes)
Key outcomes
- Improve knowledge on diver activity budgets and energetics;
- Fill a key marine industry knowledge gap on the capacity of divers to accommodate offshore wind farm effects;
- Decrease consent risk for future offshore wind farm development in areas of high diver density.
Key partners
This project, initiated, developed and delivered by JNCC, comprises a strong international partnership of government, industry, academia and ornithology experts in Denmark, the UK, Finland and Iceland. It is funded by government (BEIS Offshore Energy SEA fund, managed by Hartley Anderson Ltd), industry (Ørsted, Equinor, Vattenfall) and by The Crown Estate. Additionally, the Red-throated Diver Energetics Project includes a CASE PhD studentship, funded by NERC and the University of Liverpool, with JNCC as CASE partners.
Reports and work products
- JNCC Report 605. Possible Behavioural, Energetic and Demographic Effects of Displacement of Red-throated Divers
- JNCC Report 627: Red-Throated Diver Energetics Project: 2018 Field Season report
- JNCC Report 637: Red-Throated Diver Energetics Project: 2019 Field Season Report
- JNCC Report 638: Red-Throated Diver Energetics Project: Preliminary Results from 2018/2019
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